Romero_Trial_Transcript_8_25_04_53_2

8-25-04 Trial Transcript
23 MR. Van AELSTYN: All right, your Honor. Yes, he did
24 authenticate them as to their promulgation and did testify
25 that they were part of his normal course of communications
192
1 with Washington, but with regard to the maintenance of the
2 records, you are right, he did not.
3 THE COURT: Which subsection 6 requires, but I think
4 you have shown sufficient, and I will find under the Public
5 Records and Reports, that records, reports, statements or data
6 compilations in any form of public offices or agencies setting
7 forth the activities of the office or agency or matters
8 observed pursuant to duty imposed by law as to which matters
9 there was a duty to report excluding in criminal cases matters
10 observed by police officers or in civil actions and
11 proceedings and against the government, and that subsection
12 doesn't apply.
13 So I will find that the only applicable section is
14 803(8)(A), that these are authentic records, statements or
15 reports by the United States Embassy for the country of El
16 Salvador and that they were generated at the time in a
17 reliable way, so as we can find that these are true records
18 and, therefore, admissible under subsection (8)(A) only.
19 That's the only exception that that rule of evidence meets.
20 And under the ancient document exception, statements
21 in a document in existence 20 years or more, the authenticity
22 of which is established, is also satisfied.
23 So that we can be clear, that gets the report into
24 evidence. To the extent that there are opinions of others,
25 that there is other information for which there are yet other
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