Nebraska Revised Statutes
Chapter 27 - Courts; Rules of Evidence
27-902 - Rule 902. Self-authentication; when.

27-902. Rule 902. Self-authentication; when.
Extrinsic evidence of authenticity as a condition precedent to admissibility is not required with respect to the following:
(1) A document bearing a seal purporting to be that of the United States, or of any state, district, commonwealth, territory, or insular possession thereof, or the Panama Canal Zone or the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or of a political subdivision, department, officer, or agency thereof, and a signature purporting to be an attestation or execution;
(2) A document purporting to bear the signature in his official capacity of an officer or employee of any entity included in subdivision (1) of this section, having no seal, if a public officer having a seal and having official duties in the district or political subdivision of the officer or employee certifies under seal that the signer has the official capacity and that the signature is genuine;
(3) A document purporting to be executed or attested in his official capacity by a person authorized by the laws of a foreign country to make the execution or attestation, and accompanied by a final certification as to the genuineness of the signature and official position (a) of the executing or attesting person, or (b) of any foreign official whose certificate of genuineness of signature and official position relates to the execution or attestation or is in a chain of certificates of genuineness of signature and official position relating to the execution or attestation. A final certification may be made by a secretary of embassy or legation, consul general, consul, vice consul, or consular agent of the United States, or a diplomatic or consular official of the foreign country assigned or accredited to the United States. If reasonable opportunity has been given to all parties to investigate the authenticity and accuracy of official documents, the judge may, for good cause shown, order that they be treated as presumptively authentic without final certification or permit them to be evidenced by an attested summary with or without final certification;
(4) A copy of an official record or report or entry therein, or of a document authorized by law to be recorded or filed and actually recorded or filed in a public office, including data compilations in any form, certified as correct by the custodian or other person authorized to make the certification, by certificate complying with subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of this section or complying with any Act of Congress or the Legislature or rule adopted by the Supreme Court of Nebraska which are not in conflict with laws governing such matters;
(5) Books, pamphlets, or other publications purporting to be issued by public authority;
(6) Printed materials purporting to be newspapers or periodicals;
(7) Inscriptions, signs, tags, or labels purporting to have been affixed in the course of business and indicating ownership, control or origin;
(8) Documents accompanied by a certificate of acknowledgment executed in the manner provided by law by a notary public or other officer authorized by law to take acknowledgments;
(9) Commercial paper, signatures thereon, and documents relating thereto to the extent provided by general commercial law; or
(10) Any signature, document, or other matter declared by Act of Congress and the laws of the State of Nebraska to be presumptively or prima facie genuine or authentic.
Source

Cross References

Annotations

While not a high hurdle, it is still the burden of the proponent of the evidence to provide the court with sufficient evidence that the document or writing is what it purports to be.  VKGS v. Planet Bingo, 309 Neb. 950, 962 N.W.2d 909 (2021).


Under subsection (7) of this section, distinctive labels and brands are prima facie evidence of ownership or origin. State v. Draganescu, 276 Neb. 448, 755 N.W.2d 57 (2008).


Under subsection (4) of this section, an out-of-state record of trial proceedings is self-authenticating if the document is authorized by law to be filed in court and its accuracy has been certified by court reporting personnel in compliance with a rule of the state's highest court which is harmonious with the Nebraska Supreme Court's corresponding rule of practice and procedure. State v. King, 272 Neb. 638, 724 N.W.2d 80 (2006).


Copies of judicial records related to a defendant's conviction and sentencing in another state that are certified by a deputy clerk for the clerk of the district court in that state as a true and correct copy of the original and impressed with the court's official seal are self-authenticating and do not require extrinsic evidence of authenticity for admission under this section. State v. Hall, 270 Neb. 669, 708 N.W.2d 209 (2005).


No extrinsic authentication is required for admissibility of a copy of an official record certified by its authorized custodian, a court reporter, who has complied with the rules of the Supreme Court as to its certification. State v. Benzel, 220 Neb. 466, 370 N.W.2d 501 (1985).


The adoption of this section repealed section 25-1286 and therefor governs the admissibility of a court decree from another state. State v. Munn, 212 Neb. 265, 322 N.W.2d 429 (1982).

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