Macon County Lumber Co. v. Jones
| Decision Date | 10 June 1926 |
| Docket Number | 3 Div. 767 |
| Citation | 215 Ala. 157,110 So. 1 |
| Parties | MACON COUNTY LUMBER CO. v. JONES. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
Rehearing Denied Nov. 4, 1926
Appeal from Circuit Court, Montgomery County; Leon McCord, Judge.
Action by Taylor Jones against the Macon County Lumber Company. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Reversed and remanded.
Ball & Ball, of Montgomery, for appellant.
Hill Hill, Whiting, Thomas & Rives, of Montgomery, for appellee.
This is an action in damages for injuries to person and property resulting from a collision of motor vehicles on a public highway. The questions presented for review relate solely to rulings upon evidence offered upon the trial.
For the purpose of identifying the truck which collided with plaintiff's automobile as the property of the defendant Macon County Lumber Company, the plaintiff offered in evidence a certified copy of the certificate of title and license receipt, giving the motor number and tag number, as found in the records of the state tax commission. The copy was certified by Mrs. Kate G. Minto, chief clerk, motor vehicle department, reciting therein that she was the chief clerk of that department and custodian of said records.
Objection was made upon the ground that it did not appear that the certifying officer is the proper person to certify the transcript, nor that she had the custody of such records; that the transcript purported to be under the seal of the state tax commission, but no seal was attached. The objections were overruled, and exception reserved.
The state tax commission is given supervisory powers over the licensing and certification of titles of automobiles. It provides tags and receipts in triplicate, one of which is returned to the commission, and makes rules and regulations for delivery of the tag and receipt to the licensee. Acts 1923, p. 290, § 20. The commission prescribes the forms for certification of titles (Acts 1923, p. 321, § 2) and keeps files and indexes of certificates, "so that at all times it will be practicable to trace title to the motor vehicle designated therein." Section 3, p. 322. The commission is empowered to employ such assistants as necessary for the performance of its duties. Acts 1919, p. 319, § 137.
"All transcripts of books or papers or parts thereof, required by law to be kept in the office, custody or control of any public officer, agent, servant, or employee of any municipality, city, county, or of the state of Alabama, or of the United States, when certified by the proper custodian thereof, must be received in evidence in all courts. ***" Code 1923, § 7681.
Under the plenary powers conferred upon the state tax commission as one of the executive departments of the state government, it has authority to establish a subdivision or bureau known as the motor vehicle department, to employ a chief clerk, and to make such clerk the lawful custodian of the records and files of such bureau. In such case, the statute designates such custodian as the proper person to make certified transcripts of its records for use as evidence. The policy of the statute, as well as the common law, admitting certified copies of public records as prima facie evidence, is to avoid the necessity of removing original records from their proper custody and of requiring the attendance of public officers and employees as witnesses in the courts. The same policy excuses the calling of witnesses to prove the identity of the custodian or his signature. The readiness with which parties may investigate the contents of public records, as well as the name of the lawful custodian thereof (and the court may advise its judicial knowledge on such matters), furnishes such safeguard against fraud and forgery that a transcript, in due form, purporting to come from the proper office and to be certified by the person having the lawful custody thereof, is admissible without further proof. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Parks. 210 Ala. 261, 97 So. 788; 3 Wigmore on Ev., §§ 1636, 1679(a); 22 C.J. p. 838, § 978.
That the custodian is named by the head of a department, rather than the statute itself, does not change the rule. The statute does not require a seal. Dealing with an official certificate made within...
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