Judicial notice is a court’s acceptance of a well-known and indisputable fact without requiring the party relying on the fact to prove it. The doctrine of judicial notice is one of common sense, and is based on the theory that where a fact is well-known in the community—or its existence is easily determined from sources that cannot be reasonably questioned—it would not be a good use of judicial time and resources to require formal proof of the fact in court. A court may take judicial notice of both facts and laws.

In Connecticut, judicial notice is governed by the Connecticut Code of Evidence, specifically Section 2-201, which outlines the parameters for when a court may take judicial notice of adjudicative facts. These are facts that are not subject to reasonable dispute because they are either (1) generally known within the territorial jurisdiction of the trial court or (2) capable of accurate and ready determination by resorting to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. Connecticut courts can also take judicial notice of laws, which include statutes, regulations, and ordinances, as well as court decisions. The doctrine simplifies proceedings by acknowledging certain facts and laws that are so well-known or easily verifiable that presenting evidence to prove them would be unnecessary. Parties can request that a court take judicial notice, or a court may do so on its own initiative. Once a court takes judicial notice of a fact, it is accepted as conclusive in that case.