Evidence of the absence from the records of a business of a record of an asserted act, condition, or event is not made inadmissible by the hearsay rule when offered to prove the nonoccurrence of the act or event, or the nonexistence of the condition, if:

(a) It was the regular course of that business to make records of all such acts, conditions, or events at or near the time of the act, condition, or event and to preserve them; and

Terms Used In California Evidence Code 1272

  • business: includes every kind of business, governmental activity, profession, occupation, calling, or operation of institutions, whether carried on for profit or not. See California Evidence Code 1270
  • Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.

(b) The sources of information and method and time of preparation of the records of that business were such that the absence of a record of an act, condition, or event is a trustworthy indication that the act or event did not occur or the condition did not exist.

(Added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 299.)

  Previous section
Next section  
 Article 7 Contents