Rule 27 Proof of Official Record

Here's a plain English summary of this rule:

If someone needs to prove that an official record exists (or that it doesn't exist), they can do it the same way it's done in civil court cases. There's no separate or special process for criminal cases. The same rules and methods that apply in civil lawsuits also apply here.

This matters because official records often come up in criminal cases. For example, a prosecutor might need to prove someone has a prior conviction, or a defense attorney might need to show that no record of something exists. Instead of creating new rules for how to handle this in criminal court, this rule just points to the existing civil court rules and says to use those.