Thursday, September 6, 2012

Baker v. Elcona Homes Corp. case brief


  1. Baker v. Elcona Homes Corp. (6th Cir 1979)
    1. intersection collision b/t car and truck; no witnesses; Slabach (driver of Elcona Homes truck) survives; all passengers in the Valiant die; question of who had right of way
      • cop Henderson, arriving at scene, interviews S while he’s conscious, writes report concluding that Valiant had a red light
      • after H got off the stand (w/o being asked about his opinion re fault), Elcona introduced the report
    2. holding: this report can be included under FRE 803(8)
      • ct quickly disposes of 803(8)(B) issue – it was H’s job to investigate accidents
      • question is whether this is “factual findings” under (C)
        1. narrow reading: H’s opinion isn’t a factual finding, but an inference drawn from factual findings
        2. ct rejects this narrow finding, as does SC in a later case
    3. rationale of the rule, as applied to these facts
      • skill of the official
      • timeliness of the report after the event – deals with memory concern
      • motivational problems – does report author have axe to grind?  trustworthiness
    4. note: report itself can be admitted under 803(8); can’t be admitted as proof of the truth of S’s statement unless there’s another hearsay exception invoked to cover that bit

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