An ancient land deed from the 1800s, preserved in archives, is an example of which Rule 803 exception?

• A. Ancient documents or data compilations
• B. Present sense impression
• C. Recorded recollection
• D. Absence of a public record

Answer: (A)

Rule 803(16) covers ancient documents or data compilations. A land deed from the 1800s that’s preserved in archives fits this exception because it is well over 20 years old and is located in a place where such documents are normally kept. The reliability of long-preserved records in official or archival settings is recognized, and a custodian or another qualified witness can authenticate the document to show it’s genuine. Once authenticated, the contents of the deed may be admitted for their truth because the document itself is being treated as a trustworthy record from the past, not as a current statement by a declarant.

This isn’t about statements made at the moment of perception (present sense impression), nor about a witness’s memory recalled in writing (recorded recollection), nor about proving the nonexistence of a public record (absence of a public record).