Chapter 4 - Relevance: An Overview (Evidence Book p. 160- 162)

Question 1

Rule 401. The initial inquiry into any evidentiary issue is ___________.

Answer 1

relevance

Question 2

The initial inquiry into any evidentiary issue is relevance.

What rule?

Answer 2

Rule 401

Question 3

The initial inquiry into any evidentiary issue is relevance. It is a very low ____________.

Answer 3

threshold

Question 4

Under rule 401, if the evidence has _______ ________ to make a disputed fact more or less probable, then it is logically relevant or has a probative value.

Answer 4

any tendency

Question 5

Under rule 401, if the evidence has any tendency to make a disputed fact _____ _____ _______ ________, then it is logically relevant or has a probative value.

Answer 5

more or less probable

Question 6

Under rule 401, if the evidence has any tendency to make a disputed fact more or less probable, then it is __________ _______ or has a ________ ________.

Answer 6

logically relevant

probative value

Question 7

It need not prove the entire case to be __________ ____________.

Answer 7

logically relevant

Question 8

So even if it is logically weak evidence, it can still be relevant (the strength of the evidence only goes to its _________, not to its ______________.)

Answer 8

weight

admissibility

Question 9

It also must relate to a ________ _______ ______ in the case to be “______ ________”

Answer 9

legally material issue

legally relevant

Question 10

Irrelevant evidence is always inadmissible. What rule?

Answer 10

Rule 402

Question 11

_________ ________ is always inadmissible.
Rule 402

Answer 11

Irrelevant Evidence

Question 12

Relevant evidence that violates the Constitution (such as the 4th and 5th amendment), or federal statutes or the rules of evidence is ___________. Rule 402

Answer 12

inadmissible

Question 13

Logically relevant evidence can be excluded under Rule 403 if certain potential dangers listed in rule 403 ______ _________ the _______ _______ of the evidence (its relevancy).

Answer 13

substantially outweigh

probative value

Question 14

Judges have a good deal of discretion in conducting a Rule _______ ________ ________, and they are seldom reversed on appeal because they are very close to the evidence in question, and, as a result, appellate courts often will defer to their judgment.

Answer 14

403 balancing test

Question 15

Rule 403 gives the judge the discretion to exclude otherwise relevant evidence if the ________ of ________ __________ substantially outweighs its probative value (relevance).

Answer 15

danger of unfair prejudice

Question 16

Rule 403 gives the judge the discretion to exclude otherwise relevant evidence if the danger of unfair prejudice ________ _________ its ___________ ________ (relevance).

Answer 16

substantially outweighs its probative value

Question 17

However, simply because an item of evidence is _________, does not mean that it should be excluded; in fact, all relevant evidence is prejudicial to some degree, or else it would not be relevant - have any tendency to make a factual issue more or less likely.

However, if it contains _______ prejudice, and so much of it that it substantially outweighs the probative value, then the judge, in her distraction, can exclude it. If it merely outweighs (but not substantially so) the probative value, then although it contains some unfair prejudice, it will still be admitted.

Answer 17

prejudicial

unfair

Question 18

Rule _______ also gives the judge the discretion to exclude otherwise logically relevant evidence if it is substantially outweighed by a danger of a confusion of the issues or misleading the jury in order to protect the jury and the integrity of the jury’s factual inquiry.

Answer 18

403

Question 19

Rule 403 also gives the judge the discretion to exclude otherwise logically relevant evidence if it is substantially outweighed by a danger of a _________ of the _______ or __________ _______ _______ in order to protect the jury and the integrity of the jury’s factual inquiry.

Answer 19

confusion of the issues

misleading the jury

Question 20

The judge can also exclude evidence under Rule 403 based on considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence,” in order to protect the efficiency of the trial and proper courtroom operation. True or False

Answer 20

True

Question 21

If a party receives what appears to be a preliminary unfavorable ruling on a ______ ______ request to exclude, that party might respond with a secondary level of argument in an attempt to still achieve its objectives.

Answer 21

Rule 403

Question 22

If a Rule 403 motion to exclude evidence fails, then one possible strategic response would be to offer to _______ to whatever probative value the evidence has and thereby remove the justification for offering the evidence in the first place.

Answer 22

stipulate

Question 23

A __________ is a way to carve out and maintain the probative value of the evidence, and thereby remove the danger of the _____ ______ of the evidence, because the evidence will not be used in light of the offered _________.

Answer 23

stipulation
unfair prejudice
stipulation

Question 24

Although a judge should always consider an offer to ________, a judge is not required to accept the ________ in lieu of the evidence in all cases because parties should be able to use the evidence they choose without it being sanitized or overly diluted with a verbal ___________.

Answer 24

stipulate

stipulation

stipulation

Question 25

Rule _____ does not require that all emotional, powerful, or even very graphic evidence should always be excluded and replaced with mere verbal stipulations.

Answer 25

403

Question 26

Such evidence can still have a very important place in trials, and often forms a legitimate part of the probative value at issue, despite its emotional, powerful, or very graphic nature. True or False

Answer 26

True

Question 27

Rule 105 ________ ________

Answer 27

limiting instruction

Question 28

If a Rule ____ motion to exclude evidence succeeds, then one possible strategic response would be to request that a Rule ____ limiting instruction be given along with the evidence so that the evidence will be deemed admissible because now the danger of unfair prejudice should be sufficiently removed or substantially lessened in light of the limiting instruction to the jury.

Answer 28

403

105

Question 29

The jury is instructed only to consider the evidence for its legitimate probative value, and not to use, or rely upon, the illegitimate unfair prejudice in any way. It is sometimes questionable whether juries will actually be able to follow these types of limiting instructions. True or False.

Answer 29

True

Question 30

Judicial Determination of Preliminary Questions. What rule?

Answer 30

Rule 104

Question 31

Rule 104 allows the judge to make preliminary findings regarding the __________ of __________.

Answer 31

admissibility of evidence.

Question 32

What rule allows the judge to make preliminary findings regarding the admissibility of evidence.

Answer 32

104

Question 33

Rule 104(a) allows the judge to consider any underlying evidence, even _________ evidence, in order to make a legal finding about the admissibility of an item of evidence in issue.

Answer 33

inadmissible

Question 34

Admissibility of evidence is a legal determination to be made by the judge, not a factual determination to be made by the jury. At trial, legal admissibility determinations, if they involve argument, should be made in a conference with counsel out of the hearing of the jury. True or False.

Answer 34

True

Question 35

Judicial Determination of Conditional Relevancy. What rule?

Answer 35

104(b)

Question 36

Rule ______ requires the judge to allow the jury to decide whether certain underlying factual conditions exist in order to make an item of evidence relevant.

Answer 36

104(b)

Question 37

for example, stolen items of property are relevant, but only if they are actually stolen which is the underlying factual condition upon which the _______ of the items rest.

Answer 37

relevancy

Question 38

Because the determination of whether the preliminary factual condition exists is a factual inquiry for the _______, the ______ will admit the item of evidence and allow the ______ to give it whatever weight and reliance it sees fit during deliberations (note that the jury never makes a formal admissibility decision during trial.) The judge will allow the conditionally relevant evidence only where there has been an initial showing that a reasonable jury could find by a preponderance of the evidence that the factual condition at issue exists.

Answer 38

jury

judge

jury