Rule 27 Proof of official record

Here's a plain English summary of this rule:

If someone needs to prove what's in an official record, or prove that something is missing from an official record, they follow the same process used in civil court cases. Criminal cases don't have separate or different rules for this. Whatever method works to prove records in a civil lawsuit also works in a criminal case.

This matters because official records often come up in criminal trials. For example, a prosecutor might need to show a defendant's prior conviction, or a defense attorney might need to show that no record of an arrest exists. Instead of creating a whole new set of steps just for criminal cases, this rule simply points to the existing civil rules and says to use those same methods here.