Also known as: public records
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A record that a governmental unit is required by law to keep and that is generally open to public inspection.
Philip Powell pays off the full balance on his home loan from Pioneer Energy. The lender records a satisfaction document in the county recorder's office. The filing removes the lien from the chain of title so that any later buyer or lender searching the records sees clear ownership.
A lawyer representing Platinum Partners in a contract dispute tells reporters the exact allegations contained in the complaint already on file with the court clerk. The statement draws only from the publicly accessible docket entry and therefore stays within the permitted disclosure for pending litigation.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Progressive Healthcare offers a federal agency's investigative report concluding that a competitor violated safety standards. The report contains both raw observations and the agency's factual findings. The court admits the document under the public-records exception without requiring the investigator to testify.
After paying off Pearl Porter's senior mortgage, Pinnacle Holdings records the assignment it received by operation of law. The recorded document appears in the public index. Junior lienholders and subsequent purchasers can now ascertain the new priority position from the county records.
Paul Peterson accepts a prosecutor's offer to plead guilty to a reduced charge. The court places the written plea agreement and the resulting judgment in the official case file. Defense counsel later relies on the docket entry to prove the terms of the bargain were performed.
The prosecution offers a state laboratory analyst's certificate stating the composition of a seized substance. The certificate is a sworn statement prepared for use in litigation and kept in official files. Defense counsel objects that the analyst must appear in person for cross-examination.
Payment of the full debt entitles the mortgagor to a release. The mortgagee must record the satisfaction so that the lien no longer appears in the chain of title. Until the satisfaction is recorded, the mortgage remains visible to subsequent searchers.
A lawyer may state information contained in a public record even when other extrajudicial statements would be restricted. The exception protects accurate reporting of matters already open to public inspection.
Under Federal Rule of Evidence 803(8), public records include factual findings resulting from investigations made pursuant to legal authority. Such reports are admissible in civil cases and against the government in criminal cases, subject to trustworthiness limits.
Recording the assignment gives notice to junior lienholders and later purchasers that the subrogee now holds the senior mortgage. The recorded document prevents later parties from claiming they lacked notice of the subrogee's priority.
…477.[^maj-7] The analysts' certificates—like police reports generated by law enforcement officials—do not qualify as business or public records for precisely the same reason. See Rule 803(8) (defining public records as "excluding, however, in criminal cases matters observed by police officers and other law enforcement…