-8- Respondent argues that the Court should admit Exhibit 1-R into evidence pursuant to rule 807 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. That rule allows admission of a statement not expressly within any of the other exceptions to the hearsay rule when the statement is material and probative and when “the interests of justice will best be served by admission of the statement into evidence.” The documents underlying Exhibit 1-R are both material and probative of the issue of whether petitioner had unreported taxable income, and petitioner does not deny that he was paid the wages referenced in those documents. Given the circumstantial guaranties of trustworthiness present in this case, the inability of respondent to procure a custodian of the records of the bankrupt Efeckta, and the lack of any evidence in the record to suggest that the payroll summaries are anything other than what they purport to be, we shall admit the documents into evidence.6 See Karme v. Commissioner, 673 F.2d 1062, 1065 (9th Cir. 1982) (Fed. R. Evid. 807 authorizes a court to admit a record into evidence so long as the record is material, probative, and trustworthy), affg. 73 T.C. 1163 (1980); see also 6 Petitioner had fair opportunity to challenge the documents underlying Exhibit 1-R in advance of trial but did not take that opportunity. Respondent’s pretrial memorandum gave notice to petitioner of the possibility of respondent’s introducing evidence that might be supplied by the custodian of records for Efeckta. Petitioner had sufficient time to call witnesses to testify at trial on the matter of the payroll records of Efeckta. Finally, Exhibit 1-R involves a matter which should be familiar to petitioner; namely, petitioner’s own income for 2002.Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Next
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