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32 Me. 25

Tibbetts v. Baker

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine

Decided July 1, 1850

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine · decided 1850-07-01

Debt on judgment, recovered before a justice of the peace. Plea, nul tiel record. The plaintiff offered what purported to be a copy, duly authenticated by the justice. The defendant objected to it, and offered to prove, by another authenticated copy of the same record, and by a certificate of the justice, that the first, through his misapprehension and mistake, was erroneous.

Cited by 1 later decisions — most recently November 1880

1 state decisions

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1850-07-01

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Shepley, C. J.,

¶1orally.—The remarks now to be offered have no reference to foreign judgments.

¶2The document introduced had the requisite authentication, and was sufficient for the plaintiff. But errors are incident to all human affairs. They may occur by fraud or by mistake ; and there should be a remedy. If the question before the court related to its own record, they could reform it. But in this case, we cannot inspect the original. On certiorari a true exemplification might be obtained.

¶3If two variant authenticated copies are shown, it could not, by them, be discovered which is the true copy, and the plaintiff’s proof, for that reason, would fail, for want of the requisite certainty.

¶4We think, in such a case, the certifying magistrate might be examined on oath to testify, which is the true copy. And if he could not be obtained, another person, who had compared a copy with the original, might give the testimony.

¶5That course would not contradict a record; it would merely .ascertain which was the true copy.

¶6If the defendant had offered merely to introduce another authenticated copy, it must have been received. But he did not so do. He included, in his offer, proof of other things, such as misapprehension and mistake. It was an attempt to put in extraneous facts, and those not verified by oath. That could not be allowed, and the offer was therefore rightfully rejected. Judgment on the default.

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