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