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 Maryland, the concept of judicial notice aligns with the general principles found in other jurisdictions. Maryland Rule 5-201 governs the taking of judicial notice of adjudicative facts. According to this rule, a court may take judicial notice, whether requested or not, of any fact that is not subject to reasonable dispute because it is either generally known within the territorial jurisdiction of the trial court or can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. This includes facts and laws. The court may take judicial notice at any stage of the proceeding. When a court takes judicial notice of a fact, it is accepted as true without the need for further evidence. For laws, courts can recognize statutes, regulations, and case law from Maryland, as well as federal laws and the laws of other states. The parties are typically notified if the court takes judicial notice, and they are usually permitted to be heard on the matter if they object.