Opinion
CIVIL ACTION No. 00-2559-CM
March 31, 2003.
ORDER
Pending before the court is plaintiffs' Motion Pursuant to Fed.R.Evid. 201 to Take Judicial Notice of Adjudicative Facts (Doc. 90). Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 201, plaintiffs move the court for an order that judicial notice be taken of adjudicative facts in State ex rel. Stovall v. Meneley, 271 Kan. 355, 22 P.3d 124 (2001).
Upon consideration of the parties' arguments, relevant procedural and evidentiary rules and relevant case law, the court hereby denies plaintiffs' motion.
The Federal Rules of Evidence allow the court to take judicial notice of adjudicative facts. Fed.R.Evid. 201(a). According to Rule 201(b), "A judicially noticed fact must be one not subject to reasonable dispute in that it is either (1) generally known within the territorial jurisdiction of the trial court or (2) capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned." Id. "Because the effect of judicial notice is to deprive a party of the opportunity to use rebuttal evidence, cross-examination, and argument to attack contrary evidence, caution must be used in determining that a fact is beyond controversy under Rule 201(b)." Int'l Star Class Yacht Racing Assoc. v. Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A., Inc., 146 F.3d 66 (2nd Cir. 1998).
In this case, the specific factual determination made by the Kansas Supreme Court in Stovall falls outside the scope of Rule 201.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that plaintiffs' Motion Pursuant to Fed.R.Evid 201 to Take Judicial Notice of Adjudicative Facts (Doc. 90) is hereby denied.