A defendant is acquitted of murder. Subsequently, the family members of the victim bring a wrongful death action against the defendant. The defendant seeks to introduce a properly authenticated, certified copy of the final judgment to show that the defendant did not wrongfully kill the victim. The victim’s family members object to the introduction of the judgment. May the defendant introduce the copy of the final judgment from his criminal case? A. No, because a judgment in a criminal case is inadmissible in a subsequent civil action.
B. No, because the judgment is inadmissible hearsay.
C. Yes, because the copy of the judgment satisfies the original document rule.
D. Yes, because the level of proof in a civil action is less than that in the murder case.