The officer's notes on the back of a citation are not considered ex parte communication.

• A. True
• B. It depends
• C. False
• D. Not sure

Answer: (C)

Ex parte communication is when a decision-maker (like a judge) receives information about a case from one side outside the presence of the other party, with the potential to influence the outcome. The notes on the back of a citation are created by the officer and can end up in the record or be reviewed by the court. If those notes are not disclosed to the defense and are used to inform or influence the judge’s ruling, they amount to ex parte communication. That makes the statement false: such notes can be considered ex parte, depending on how they’re shared and used in the proceeding. In contrast, the idea that they never count as ex parte ignores the possibility that they could affect the decision without the other side’s knowledge.