Judge's Notes

They are short statements, made by a judge on the trial of a cause, of what transpires in the course of such trial. They usually contain a statement of the testimony of witnesses; of documents offered or admitted in evidence; of offers of evidence and whether it has been received or rejected, and the like matters.

In general judge's notes are not evidence of what transpired at a former trial, nor can they be read to prove what a deceased witness swore to on such former trial, for they are no part of the record, and he is not officially bound to make them. But in chancery, when a new trial is ordered of an issue sent out of chancery to a court of law, and it is suggested that some of the witnesses in the former trial are of an advanced age, an order may be made that, in the event of death or inability to attend, their testimony may be read from the judge's notes.
   

This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.