Judicial Notice: Can a Judge take Judicial Notice of a Fact which the Parties have not Introduced?
Judicial notice is the only exception to the general rule that cases must be decided on the evidence presented by the parties in open court. Judicial notice involves the acceptance of a fact or a state of affairs without proof and may occur in two circumstances: i. When the fact is so notorious or accepted as not to be the subject of dispute among reasonable persons, or ii. When the fact is capable of immediate and accurate demonstration. In R. v. J.M. , 2021 ONCA 150, the Court of Appeal for Ontario recognizes that judicial notice also has a procedural dimension. The procedural dimension of judicial notice bears on the answer to the question: What is required when a judge--on his/her own initiative--wishes to take judicial notice of a fact? The procedural dimension [36] The issue of judicial notice most often arises when a party requests the trier of fact to take judicial notice of a fact. Other parties then may support or oppose the request. The adversaria