SECTIONS 450-460 - California Statutes

EVIDENCE CODE

SECTION 450-460

450. Judicial notice may not be taken of any matter unless
authorized or required by law.

451. Judicial notice shall be taken of the following:
(a) The decisional, constitutional, and public statutory law of
this state and of the United States and the provisions of any charter
described in Section 3, 4, or 5 of Article XI of the California
Constitution.
(b) Any matter made a subject of judicial notice by Section
11343.6, 11344.6, or 18576 of the Government Code or by Section 1507
of Title 44 of the United States Code.
(c) Rules of professional conduct for members of the bar adopted
pursuant to Section 6076 of the Business and Professions Code and
rules of practice and procedure for the courts of this state adopted
by the Judicial Council.
(d) Rules of pleading, practice, and procedure prescribed by the
United States Supreme Court, such as the Rules of the United States
Supreme Court, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal
Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Admiralty Rules, the Rules of the
Court of Claims, the Rules of the Customs Court, and the General
Orders and Forms in Bankruptcy.
(e) The true signification of all English words and phrases and of
all legal expressions.
(f) Facts and propositions of generalized knowledge that are so
universally known that they cannot reasonably be the subject of
dispute.

452. Judicial notice may be taken of the following matters to the
extent that they are not embraced within Section 451:
(a) The decisional, constitutional, and statutory law of any state
of the United States and the resolutions and private acts of the
Congress of the United States and of the Legislature of this state.
(b) Regulations and legislative enactments issued by or under the
authority of the United States or any public entity in the United
States.
(c) Official acts of the legislative, executive, and judicial
departments of the United States and of any state of the United
States.
(d) Records of (1) any court of this state or (2) any court of
record of the United States or of any state of the United States.
(e) Rules of court of (1) any court of this state or (2) any court
of record of the United States or of any state of the United States.
(f) The law of an organization of nations and of foreign nations
and public entities in foreign nations.
(g) Facts and propositions that are of such common knowledge
within the territorial jurisdiction of the court that they cannot
reasonably be the subject of dispute.
(h) Facts and propositions that are not reasonably subject to
dispute and are capable of immediate and accurate determination by
resort to sources of reasonably indisputable accuracy.

452.5. (a) The official acts and records specified in subdivisions
(c) and (d) of Section 452 include any computer-generated official
court records, as specified by the Judicial Council which relate to
criminal convictions, when the record is certified by a clerk of the
superior court pursuant to Section 69844.5 of the Government Code at
the time of computer entry.
(b) An official record of conviction certified in accordance with
subdivision (a) of Section 1530 is admissible pursuant to Section
1280 to prove the commission, attempted commission, or solicitation
of a criminal offense, prior conviction, service of a prison term, or
other act, condition, or event recorded by the record.

453. The trial court shall take judicial notice of any matter
specified in Section 452 if a party requests it and:
(a) Gives each adverse party sufficient notice of the request,
through the pleadings or otherwise, to enable such adverse party to
prepare to meet the request; and
(b) Furnishes the court with sufficient information to enable it
to take judicial notice of the matter.

454. (a) In determining the propriety of taking judicial notice of
a matter, or the tenor thereof:
(1) Any source of pertinent information, including the advice of
persons learned in the subject matter, may be consulted or used,
whether or not furnished by a party.
(2) Exclusionary rules of evidence do not apply except for Section
352 and the rules of privilege.
(b) Where the subject of judicial notice is the law of an
organization of nations, a foreign nation, or a public entity in a
foreign nation and the court resorts to the advice of persons learned
in the subject matter, such advice, if not received in open court,
shall be in writing.

455. With respect to any matter specified in Section 452 or in
subdivision (f) of Section 451 that is of substantial consequence to
the determination of the action:
(a) If the trial court has been requested to take or has taken or
proposes to take judicial notice of such matter, the court shall
afford each party reasonable opportunity, before the jury is
instructed or before the cause is submitted for decision by the
court, to present to the court information relevant to (1) the
propriety of taking judicial notice of the matter and (2) the tenor
of the matter to be noticed.
(b) If the trial court resorts to any source of information not
received in open court, including the advice of persons learned in
the subject matter, such information and its source shall be made a
part of the record in the action and the court shall afford each
party reasonable opportunity to meet such information before judicial
notice of the matter may be taken.

456. If the trial court denies a request to take judicial notice of
any matter, the court shall at the earliest practicable time so
advise the parties and indicate for the record that it has denied the
request.

457. If a matter judicially noticed is a matter which would
otherwise have been for determination by the jury, the trial court
may, and upon request shall, instruct the jury to accept as a fact
the matter so noticed.

458. The failure or refusal of the trial court to take judicial
notice of a matter, or to instruct the jury with respect to the
matter, does not preclude the trial court in subsequent proceedings
in the action from taking judicial notice of the matter in accordance
with the procedure specified in this division.

459. (a) The reviewing court shall take judicial notice of (1) each
matter properly noticed by the trial court and (2) each matter that
the trial court was required to notice under Section 451 or 453. The
reviewing court may take judicial notice of any matter specified in
Section 452. The reviewing court may take judicial notice of a matter
in a tenor different from that noticed by the trial court.
(b) In determining the propriety of taking judicial notice of a
matter, or the tenor thereof, the reviewing court has the same power
as the trial court under Section 454.
(c) When taking judicial notice under this section of a matter
specified in Section 452 or in subdivision (f) of Section 451 that is
of substantial consequence to the determination of the action, the
reviewing court shall comply with the provisions of subdivision (a)
of Section 455 if the matter was not theretofore judicially noticed
in the action.
(d) In determining the propriety of taking judicial notice of a
matter specified in Section 452 or in subdivision (f) of Section 451
that is of substantial consequence to the determination of the
action, or the tenor thereof, if the reviewing court resorts to any
source of information not received in open court or not included in
the record of the action, including the advice of persons learned in
the subject matter, the reviewing court shall afford each party
reasonable opportunity to meet such information before judicial
notice of the matter may be taken.

460. Where the advice of persons learned in the subject matter is
required in order to enable the court to take judicial notice of a
matter, the court on its own motion or on motion of any party may
appoint one or more such persons to provide such advice. If the court
determines to appoint such a person, he shall be appointed and
compensated in the manner provided in Article 2 (commencing with
Section 730) of Chapter 3 of Division 6.