Del. R. Evid. 106 (2026)

Rule 106. Remainder of or Related Writings or Recorded Statements. If a party introduces all or part of a writing or recorded statement, an adverse party may require the introduction, at that time, of any other part — or any other writing or recorded statement — that in fairness ought to be considered at the same time. Comment This rule tracks F.R.E. 106. It is similar to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 32(a)(6) and Delaware Court of Chancery Rule 32(a)(4) and Delaware Superior Court Civil Rule 32(a)(4). The Committee rejected the substitution of a “relevance” test for a “fairness” test for what must also be introduced if part of a writing or statement is introduced.

For prior Delaware case illustrating the law covered by this rule, see Lowber v. State, Del. Supr., 100 A. 322 (1917).

D.R.E. 106 was amended in 2017 in response to the 2011 restyling of the Federal Rules of Evidence. The amendment is intended to be stylistic only. The pre-2017 “Comment” to D.R.E. 106 was revised only as necessary to reflect the 2017 amendments and the current language of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. There is no intent to change any result in ruling on evidence admissibility.

ARTICLE II. JUDICIAL NOTICE Rule 201. Judicial Notice of Adjudicative Facts. (a) Scope. This Rule governs judicial notice of an adjudicative fact only, not a legislative fact. (b) Kinds of Facts That May Be Judicially Noticed. The court may judicially notice a fact that is not subject to reasonable dispute because it: (1) is generally known within the trial court’s territorial jurisdiction; or (2) can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. (c) Taking Notice. The court: (1) may take judicial notice on its own; or (2) must take judicial notice if a party requests it and the court is supplied with the necessary information. (d) Timing. The court may take judicial notice at any stage of the proceeding. (e) Opportunity to Be Heard. On timely request, a party is entitled to be heard on the propriety of taking judicial notice and the nature of the fact to

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be noticed. If the court takes judicial notice before notifying a party, the party, on request, is still entitled to be heard. (f) Instructing the Jury. Upon request, the court must instruct the jury to accept the noticed fact as conclusive. Comment This rule largely tracks F.R.E. 201 except for 201(f) (see discussion below). This article is limited to adjudicative facts. In the interests of uniformity, the Committee rejected a proposal that this rule be expanded to cover legislative facts. See Davis, “Judicial Notice,” reprinted in Weinstein, pp. 201-22; McCormick §§ 328, 331; F.R.E. Advisory Committee’s note to article II.

The Committee recognized that courts sometimes judicially recognize legislative facts without giving the parties an opportunity to comment on the facts proposed to be judicially noticed. While recognizing that this may sometimes be unfair, the Committee did not think it should address this problem at this time.