Custodian of Records

[marie]

I have subpoened a custodian of records to bring with and testify about school records.

1.  Do I need a copy of all those records for the judge and opposing party?

Thanks

[socrateaser]

>I have subpoened a custodian of records to bring with and
>testify about school records.
>
>1.  Do I need a copy of all those records for the judge and
>opposing party?

Some courts have copy machines right at the assistant's desk in the courtroom, so you can ask the court to make a copy for everyone's convenience.

Regardless, you can ask the custodian to testify to the contents of the records without actually offering the records themselves into evidence. That is, you ask a question, the answer to which is in the records, the custodian states that he/she can't recall, you ask if consulting his/her records will refresh his/her recollection, witness says yes, looks at the records, and then testifies to what he/she remembers. If custodian still can't remember, because the record is too complex, then you ask that the recorded recollection be read directly into the record.

But, as you will observe, the record itself was never admitted into evidence.

If you offer the documents directly into evidence, you just show them to the other party and the court, and the documents are admissible.

Then you ask permission to use the document, take the document and ask questions of the witness, then replace it at the evidence table. Then the other attorney/party does similiarly.