Senate Bill sb0524

    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 524

    By Senator Campbell





    32-277-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to rules of evidence; amending

  3         s. 90.104, F.S.; specifying circumstances in

  4         which claims of error relating to evidence

  5         admitted or excluded at trial are preserved for

  6         appeal; amending s. 90.803, F.S., relating to

  7         hearsay exceptions; amending conditions under

  8         which certain records of regularly conducted

  9         business activity are admissible; amending s.

10         90.902, F.S.; providing for circumstances in

11         which evidence accompanied by a certification

12         or declaration made by a records custodian or

13         another qualified person does not require

14         extrinsic evidence of authenticity as a

15         condition precedent to admissibility; providing

16         an effective date.

17  

18  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

19  

20         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 90.104, Florida

21  Statutes, is amended to read:

22         90.104  Rulings on evidence.--

23         (1)  A court may predicate error, set aside or reverse

24  a judgment, or grant a new trial on the basis of admitted or

25  excluded evidence when a substantial right of the party is

26  adversely affected and:

27         (a)  When the ruling is one admitting evidence, a

28  timely objection or motion to strike appears on the record,

29  stating the specific ground of objection if the specific

30  ground was not apparent from the context; or

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 524
    32-277-03




 1         (b)  When the ruling is one excluding evidence, the

 2  substance of the evidence was made known to the court by offer

 3  of proof or was apparent from the context within which the

 4  questions were asked.

 5  

 6  If the court has made a definitive ruling on the record

 7  admitting or excluding evidence, either at or before trial, a

 8  party need not renew an objection or offer of proof to

 9  preserve a claim of error for appeal.

10         Section 2.  Subsection (6) of section 90.803, Florida

11  Statutes, is amended to read:

12         90.803  Hearsay exceptions; availability of declarant

13  immaterial.--The provision of s. 90.802 to the contrary

14  notwithstanding, the following are not inadmissible as

15  evidence, even though the declarant is available as a witness:

16         (6)  RECORDS OF REGULARLY CONDUCTED BUSINESS

17  ACTIVITY.--

18         (a)  A memorandum, report, record, or data compilation,

19  in any form, of acts, events, conditions, opinion, or

20  diagnosis, made at or near the time by, or from information

21  transmitted by, a person with knowledge, if kept in the course

22  of a regularly conducted business activity and if it was the

23  regular practice of that business activity to make such

24  memorandum, report, record, or data compilation, all as shown

25  by the testimony of the custodian or other qualified witness,

26  or as shown by a certification or declaration that complies

27  with paragraph (c) and s. 90.902(11), unless the sources of

28  information or other circumstances show lack of

29  trustworthiness. The term "business" as used in this paragraph

30  includes a business, institution, association, profession,

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 524
    32-277-03




 1  occupation, and calling of every kind, whether or not

 2  conducted for profit.

 3         (b)  No Evidence in the form of an opinion or diagnosis

 4  is inadmissible admissible under paragraph (a) unless such

 5  opinion or diagnosis would be admissible under ss.

 6  90.701-90.705 if the person whose opinion is recorded were to

 7  testify to the opinion directly.

 8         (c)  A party intending to offer evidence under

 9  paragraph (a) by means of a certification or declaration shall

10  serve reasonable written notice of that intention upon every

11  other party and shall make the evidence available for

12  inspection sufficiently in advance of its offer in evidence to

13  provide to any other party a fair opportunity to challenge the

14  admissibility of the evidence. If the evidence is maintained

15  in a foreign country, the party intending to offer the

16  evidence must provide written notice of that intention at the

17  arraignment or as soon after the arraignment as is practicable

18  or, in a civil case, 60 days before the trial. A motion

19  opposing the admissibility of such evidence must be made by

20  the opposing party and determined by the court before trial. A

21  party's failure to file such a motion before trial constitutes

22  a waiver of objection to the evidence, but the court for good

23  cause shown may grant relief from the waiver.

24         Section 3.  Subsection (11) is added to section 90.902,

25  Florida Statutes, to read:

26         90.902  Self-authentication.--Extrinsic evidence of

27  authenticity as a condition precedent to admissibility is not

28  required for:

29         (11)  An original or a duplicate of evidence that would

30  be admissible under s. 90.803(6), which is maintained in a

31  foreign country or domestic location and is accompanied by a

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 524
    32-277-03




 1  certification or declaration from the custodian of the records

 2  or another qualified person certifying or declaring that the

 3  record:

 4         (a)  Was made at or near the time of the occurrence of

 5  the matters set forth by, or from information transmitted by,

 6  a person having knowledge of those matters;

 7         (b)  Was kept in the course of the regularly conducted

 8  activity; and

 9         (c)  Was made as a regular practice in the course of

10  the regularly conducted activity,

11  

12  provided that falsely making such a certification or

13  declaration would subject the maker to criminal penalty under

14  the laws of the foreign or domestic location in which the

15  certification or declaration was signed.

16         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

17  

18            *****************************************

19                          SENATE SUMMARY

20    Provides that, if a trial court has made a definitive
      ruling on the record admitting or excluding evidence, a
21    party need not renew an objection or offer of proof to
      preserve a claim of error for appeal. With respect to
22    hearsay exceptions, provides that certain records of
      regularly conducted business activity are admissible when
23    a records custodian or another qualified person provides
      a certification or declaration that attests to the
24    authenticity of the records. Provides for circumstances
      in which evidence accompanied by a certification or
25    declaration made by a records custodian or another
      qualified person does not require extrinsic evidence of
26    authenticity as a condition precedent to admissibility of
      the evidence.
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