514 P.2d 216 | Utah | 1973
The defendant was convicted in juvenile court of the crime of contributing to the delinquency of juveniles in that he furnished marijuana to juvenile boys under the age of eighteen years.
The case was tried to the court sitting without a jury. No one asked the boys their ages, and when the evidence was all in and both sides had rested, the prosecutor suggested that the court should take judicial knowledge of the age of each child.
While the outward physical appearance of an alleged minor may be considered in judging his age,
With respect to two juveniles . . and . . . the Court has records that contain the date of birth of these two boys and shows them both fourteen years of age and the Court is entitled to take judicial notice of its own records.
It seems to be the law that a court will take judicial knowledge of its own records insofar as those records are a part of the matter before the court. However, records of other proceedings in the court cannot be judicially noticed and must be introduced in evidence in order to be considered in the pending case. See 22A C.J.S. Criminal Law § 564.
Inasmuch as neither party had requested a reopening of the case, there could be no further evidence given in the matter; and since the court could not take judicial notice of records in other cases, there was
The judgment of conviction is reversed, and the defendant is discharged.
. 2 Wigmore on Evidence § 222 (3d Ed. 1940).