Article 4: General Relevancy (401-403) Flashcards
In a personal injury action involving a drunk driver, the defendant wants to stipulate to liability to avoid having the jury hear evidence that he was driving with a BAC of .30, when considering the issue of damages. The P refuses the stipulation. If P seeks to introduce evidence of the defendant’s intoxication, and the defence objects on relevancy and Rule 403, the court should:
A. Sustain the objection on the basis of relevancy, unless punitive damages are at issues.
B. Overrule the objection b/c a party is not required to accept a stipulation and is entitled to prove his or her prima facie case.
C. Sustain the objection on Rule 403 grounds.
D. Both (A) and (C) are correct.
- D
- Old chief v. US
- P probably has to agree to the stipulation here
- if we stipulate to liability, what relevancy does alcohol have
- if you have punitive damages, the drunk driving may be relevant
- without punitive damages, if he was liable, then it’s all about damages
- moust courts will force the stipulation
- exception: when the stipulated material is important to the narrative of the story
Murder prosecution. Defendant stipulates that he killed the victim, but claims self-defense. The prosecution calls an officer who saw the scene of the crime, and shows her a photo of the horribly mutilated victim who has been stabbed ten times lying in a pool of blood. The officer states that though she did not take the photo herself, she knows that it accurately depicts the scene of the crime. The court should rule the photo:
A. Inadmissible b/c it is irrelevant
B. Inadmissible b/c though relevant, its probative value is substantially outweighted by its prejudicial impact.
C. Admissible b/c while the murder scene may be prejudicial b/c it appears horrible, it is not unfairly prejudicial b/c the D has raised self defense and the photo is relevant to that issue.
D. Inadmissible b/c the D has stipulated to the killing.
- C
- if they say self-defense, the photo is coming in every time so you can see if the wounds are consistent with self-defense
In an action for malicious damage caused to a high school football field by a high school prank, Jones seeks to introduce in evidence a photo of an “H” burned into the East High football field in order to depict the nature and extent of the damage done. The judge should rule the photo:
A. Admissible if Jones testifies that it fairly and accurately portrays the condition of the football field after the damages was done.
B. Admissible if Jones testifies that the phto was tekn within a week after the alleged occurrence.
C. Inadmissible if Jones failes to call the photographer to testify concerning the circumstances under which the photo was taken.
D. Inadmissible if it is possible to describe the damages done to the field through direct oral testimony.
- A
- B not right b/c a lot of things can happen in a week, it’s probably not coming in for that reason
- C not right b/c it doesn’t have to be a photographer
- D not right b/c the fact you can say what you saw doesn’t preclude photo evidence
Action for embezzlement by a limited partner against a general partner. Evidence is offered that after the limited partner accues the general partner of skimming profits from the casino, the general partner took the books and records of the casino and threw them into the furnace. The evidence:
A. Admissible as relevant to prove consciousness of guilt by spoilation.
B. Inadmissible as irrelevant.
C. Inadmissible under Rule 403 as more prejudicial than helpful.
D. Inadmissible unless the defendant is first given the opportunity to explain why he burned the records.
- A
- spoilation
- ex. State Farm and destroying the manual case
- if it comes out that evidence has been destroyed, it comes in and the jury can use it as evidence of consciouness of guilt
- as soon as something happens in a lawsuit with documents, you put a red flag out telling everyone to stop document destruction
Dryden is tried on a charge of driving while intoxicated. When Dryden was booked at the police station, a videotape was made that showed him unsteady, abusive, and speaking in a slurred manner. If the prosecutor authenticates the tape taken at a relevant time and place, should the court admit it in evidence and permit it to be shown to the jury?
A. Yes, b/c it is an admission
B. Yes, b/c its value is not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice
C. No, b/c the scene is unfarily prejudicial to the accused without expert testimony
D. No, b/c it is unfairly prejudicial w/o expert testimony explaining the significance of his behavior with respect to the issue of intoxication.
After a slip and fall on icy steps leading to D’s jewelry store, P filed a negligence action seeking compensatory damages. D denies negligence. To prove D’s net worth for purposes of establishing that the defendant could have afforded to maintain the premises in a safer manner, P calls D’s accountant, shows her a document, and asks that accountant to identify it. The accountant says that it is a financial statment she prepared for D. P moves the admission of the document. The evidence is:
A. Inadmissible b/c it is irrelevant
B. Admissible b/c defendant’s net worth is relevant to damages
C. Inadmissible as hearsay.
D. Inadmissible due to lack of proper foundation.
- A
- most of the time, wealth of D is not relevant
- unless it has something material to the facts of the case
In a product liability case against General Motors for the improper design of the roof of the chevy Blazer, GM appeals a 18,583,900 jury verdict in part on the ground that the trial court had improperly admitted, over relevancy and Rule 403 objections, four exhibits describing 40 other rollover accidents that were not substantially similar b/c they included, contrary to the facts of the actual case, “secondary collisons, unbelted victims, partial ejections, and different models, and b/c many occurred after the [subject] Blazer was manufactured.” On appeal, the court should:
A. Affirm if the trial court made a factual finding of sufficient similarity of conditions to be relevant to notice or defect.
B. Reverse b/c dissimilar accidents as a mater or law are more likely to confuse or inflame the jury than assist the trier of fact in deciding a fact in issue.
C. Affirm b/c issues of relevancy are within the sound discretion of the trial court apart from any factual finding of sufficient similarity.
D. Reverse b/c other accidents, even if sufficiently similar to be relevant to issues of defect and notice, are unfairly prejudicial under Rule 403 and Rule 404, prior bad acts.
- A
- “sufficiently similar” = magic words for demonstrative aids
what must a habit be?
