Chapter 4 - Relevance: An Overview (Evidence Book p. 160- 162) Flashcards
Rule 401. The initial inquiry into any evidentiary issue is ___________.
relevance
The initial inquiry into any evidentiary issue is relevance.
What rule?
Rule 401
The initial inquiry into any evidentiary issue is relevance. It is a very low ____________.
threshold
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.
any tendency
Under rule 401, if the evidence has any tendency to make a disputed fact _____ _____ _______ ________, then it is logically relevant or has a probative value.
more or less probable
Under rule 401, if the evidence has any tendency to make a disputed fact more or less probable, then it is __________ _______ or has a ________ ________.
logically relevant
probative value
It need not prove the entire case to be __________ ____________.
logically relevant
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 ______________.)
weight
admissibility
It also must relate to a ________ _______ ______ in the case to be “______ ________”
legally material issue
legally relevant
Irrelevant evidence is always inadmissible. What rule?
Rule 402
_________ ________ is always inadmissible.
Rule 402
Irrelevant Evidence
Relevant evidence that violates the Constitution (such as the 4th and 5th amendment), or federal statutes or the rules of evidence is ___________. Rule 402
inadmissible
Logically relevant evidence can be excluded under Rule 403 if certain potential dangers listed in rule 403 ______ _________ the _______ _______ of the evidence (its relevancy).
substantially outweigh
probative value
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.
403 balancing test
Rule 403 gives the judge the discretion to exclude otherwise relevant evidence if the ________ of ________ __________ substantially outweighs its probative value (relevance).
danger of unfair prejudice
Rule 403 gives the judge the discretion to exclude otherwise relevant evidence if the danger of unfair prejudice ________ _________ its ___________ ________ (relevance).
substantially outweighs its probative value
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.
prejudicial
unfair
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.
403
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.
confusion of the issues
misleading the jury
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
True
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.
Rule 403
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.
stipulate
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 _________.
stipulation
unfair prejudice
stipulation
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 ___________.
stipulate
stipulation
stipulation
Rule _____ does not require that all emotional, powerful, or even very graphic evidence should always be excluded and replaced with mere verbal stipulations.
403
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
True
Rule 105 ________ ________
limiting instruction
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.
403
105
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.
True
Judicial Determination of Preliminary Questions. What rule?
Rule 104
Rule 104 allows the judge to make preliminary findings regarding the __________ of __________.
admissibility of evidence.
What rule allows the judge to make preliminary findings regarding the admissibility of evidence.
104
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.
inadmissible
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.
True
Judicial Determination of Conditional Relevancy. What rule?
104(b)
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.
104(b)
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.
relevancy
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.
jury
judge
jury
