Which statement about the admissibility of birth certificates and letters as declarations about pedigree is correct?

Which statement about the admissibility of birth certificates and letters as declarations about pedigree is correct?

• A. The unsigned birth certificate showing Jay as father is admissible as a declaration about pedigree.
• B. Neither the birth certificate nor the letters are admissible as declarations about pedigree.
• C. Both the birth certificate and the letters are admissible as declarations about pedigree.
• D. The letters from Jay's siblings are admissible as declarations about pedigree.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that declarations about pedigree must come from a person who is making a statement about their own family relationship, and they must fit a recognized exception to hearsay. An unsigned birth certificate isn’t a declarant’s statement about who is related to whom; it’s an official record that requires authentication and foundation to be used as evidence, and it doesn’t automatically serve as a declaration about who is whose parent. The letters from Jay’s siblings are hearsay from third parties and lack a qualifying exception or the declarant’s live testimony to tie them to the relationship. So, neither the birth certificate nor the siblings’ letters meet the necessary requirements to be admissible as declarations about pedigree.

The key idea is that declarations about pedigree must come from a person who is making a statement about their own family relationship, and they must fit a recognized exception to hearsay. An unsigned birth certificate isn’t a declarant’s statement about who is related to whom; it’s an official record that requires authentication and foundation to be used as evidence, and it doesn’t automatically serve as a declaration about who is whose parent. The letters from Jay’s siblings are hearsay from third parties and lack a qualifying exception or the declarant’s live testimony to tie them to the relationship.

So, neither the birth certificate nor the siblings’ letters meet the necessary requirements to be admissible as declarations about pedigree.