Judicial Notice of Adjudicative Facts – Timing. The court may take judicial notice at which stage of the proceeding?

• A. Only before trial
• B. Only after evidence is presented
• C. At any stage of the proceeding
• D. Only during jury deliberations

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that judicial notice of adjudicative facts can be taken whenever it’s appropriate to do so, not at a fixed point in the process. A court may notice a fact without proof because it’s not reasonably disputable or it’s a matter of common knowledge or easily verifiable from reliable sources. This can happen before trial, during the trial, after evidence has been presented, or even on appeal. The judge can take notice on their own (sua sponte) or in response to a party’s request. Because the purpose is to avoid proving undisputed facts and to keep the proceeding efficient, timing isn’t restricted to a single stage.

That’s why the correct understanding is that it can occur at any stage of the proceeding. The other options suggest restrictions that aren’t aligned with how judicial notice is designed to function.