Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but has anyone noticed the difference in what you get when you request a pen packet from a State Jail Felony conviction?

TDCJ has apparently changed their procedure to require each individual State Jail Facility to produce their own packet. Instead of getting a certified packet with the state seal, you get a business records affidavit from the records person at the state jail facility with a copy of the judgment, a picture of the inmate and the fingerprint card.

By my analysis, this will require the filing of these business record affidavits with the district clerk at least 14 days prior to trial in accordance with Rule 902(10) of the Texas Rules of Evidence.

Am I wrong or is there any particular statutory authority for admitting these records other than as business records?

They are still a governmental record, and governmental records, in any form, are admissible. There is no 14-day rule for government records.

I agree that public records are admissible, but it requires a witness to prove that they are indeed a public record, whereas the certification made the document self-authenticating.

Looking at Rule 1005, which governs public records, requires that for documents authorized to be filed and actually filed may be proved by a certified copy or by witness testimony. Looking further at Rule 901(7) states that an example of authentication for a public document is evidence that the document is from the public office where items of this nature are kept.

All in all--I guess its not that big a deal, just the failure to have the certification/state seal causes us to contact each county to get the underlying certified copies of judgments, where you used to be able to get them from one source.

on a related issue ...

State jail pen packs