In a criminal battery case brought against the defendant, the prosecutor asked the court to take judicial notice of the fact tha
t a car driven from Chicago to Detroit has to cross state lines. The defense attorney raised no objection, and the judge declared that she was taking judicial notice of the fact as requested by the prosecution. What is the effect of such judicial notice
Answer: That the judge should instruct the jury that it may, but is not required to, accept the noticed fact as conclusively proven.
Explanation:
Judicial notice simply means evidence. It allows the introduction of a fact into evidence in a situation whereby the truth of that fact is well known, that it can't reasonably be doubted.
Based on the information given in the question, the effect of such judicial notice is that the judge should instruct the jury that it may, but is not required to, accept the noticed fact as conclusively proven.
