Courtroom Evidence Flashcards
At what stage of the criminal proceedings does the rule of evidence apply?
at Trial
when a party objects evidence, is the evidence admitted or excluded if the judge sustains the objection? Does the evidence go to the jury?
It is excluded and cannot be seen by the jury
Can an officer use hearsay when investigating a crime?
Yes they can
if the judge at the suppression hearing suppresses the evidence can it be used can it be used at trial? will the jury ever see or hear it?
No it cannot and the jury will not see it
is the defendant required to take the witness stand to tell his side of the story? Does he have to call any witness or put up a case?
No, based off of his 5th amendment right the defendant does not need to testify or call any witnesses
If the defendant takes the witness stand can he be impeached with evidence of an arrest?
No
What is relevant evidence? can evidence be admitted at trial if its irrelevant?
Is has the tendency to prove or disprove an issue at trial, Irrelevant evidence is inadmissible at trial
What is direct evidence? Give an example.
It tends to prove a fact directly and without the need to draw an inference or conclusion about what the evidence implies
i.e. a witness saw the victim yell “please help me”
What is circumstantial evidence? Give an example.
tends to prove a fact indirectly through an inference, deduction or conclusion.
i.e. gun left near the crime scene
T or F? Direct evidence is more valuable than circumstantial evidence?
False, they’re equally as valuable
Question Root: At what stage of a criminal trial is the defense required to present evidence to the court?
ANSWERS
a. During a pretrial motion to suppress filed by the government.
b. During the defense case.
c. The defense is never required to present evidence at any stage of the criminal trial.
d. During sentencing.
C. The defense is never REQUIRED to present evidence at any stage of the criminal trial. Instead, it is the prosecution’s job to present evidence sufficient to establish defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense can certainly choose to present evidence to establish the defendant’s innocence, but it cannot be REQUIRED to do so.
Question Root: In any felony case in which the government is NOT seeking the death penalty, who will decide the guilty defendant’s sentence? ANSWERS a. The presiding judge. b. The presiding jury. c. The district sentencing commission. d. The assigned prosecutor.
a. CORRECT: If a defendant is found guilty of a noncapital felony, the presiding judge conducts a sentencing hearing and sets the sentence. The jury is not involved UNLESS the defendant has been found guilty of a capital offense.
Question Root: The defense has filed a pretrial motion to suppress a key piece of the prosecution’s evidence. A suppression hearing has been conducted, and both sides have presented evidence on the motion. How will the matter be resolved?
ANSWERS
a. The judge will determine the motion to suppress. If she decides to grant the motion, the evidence can be presented to the jury later to help it reach its verdict. But if she decides to deny the motion, the evidence cannot be presented to the jury later to help it reach its verdict.
b. The jury will determine the motion to suppress. If they decide to grant the motion, the evidence can be considered by the jury in reaching its verdict. But if they decide to deny the motion, the evidence cannot be considered by the jury in reaching its verdict.
c. The judge will determine the motion to suppress. If she decides to grant the motion, the evidence cannot be presented to the jury later to help it reach its verdict. But if she decides to deny the motion, the evidence can be presented to the jury later to help it reach its verdict.
d. The jury will determine the motion to suppress. If they decide to grant the motion, the evidence cannot be considered by the jury in reaching its verdict. But if they decide to deny the motion, the evidence can be considered by the jury in reaching its verdict.
c. CORRECT: The judge does determine the motion to suppress. By filing its motion, the defense is trying to suppress the evidence. So if the judge grants that motion, the evidence IS suppressed and CANNOT be presented to the jury later to help it reach its verdict. And if she decides to deny the motion, the evidence IS NOT suppressed and CAN be presented to the jury later.
Question Root: Which of the following statements best describes when evidence is relevant in a criminal trial?
ANSWERS
a. Evidence will only be relevant when it assists the prosecution in meeting its burden of proving the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
b. Evidence will only be relevant if it tends to prove or disprove a fact in issue in the case.
c. Evidence will only be relevant when it is able, by itself, to conclusively establish a key fact in issue in the case.
d. Evidence will only be relevant when it tends to prove a fact directly and without needing to draw an inference or conclusion about what the evidence implies.
b. CORRECT: This answer is one way of stating the definition of relevant evidence.
Question Root: Lawson is being tried for robbing a bank in 2015. Video shows that the robber wore an orange ski mask and a leather coat and carried a sawed-off pump shotgun. Investigators have established that Lawson was convicted of robbing a bank in 2010 while wearing an orange ski mask and a leather coat and carrying a sawed-off pump shotgun. Lawson completed his first-offender sentence and was released from prison in late 2014. The prosecutor wants to admit evidence relating to the 2010 bank robbery. Which of the following purposes would NOT support admitting evidence concerning the 2010 bank robbery?
ANSWERS
a. The evidence of similar methods used in 2010 and 2015 establishes a common modus operandi circumstantially demonstrating that the same person committed both robberies.
b. The evidence of similar methods used in 2010 and 2015 helps establish identity by circumstantially demonstrating that the same person committed both robberies.
c. The evidence of similar methods used in 2010 and 2015 establishes a common plan, circumstantially demonstrating that the same person planned and committed both robberies.
d. The conviction in 2010 demonstrates the defendant’s general propensity to commit crimes and specific propensity to commit robberies
d. CORRECT: Evidence of Lawson’s earlier crimes, wrongs and misconduct cannot be used solely to show that he has the general propensity to commit crimes or the specific propensity to commit robberies. Evidence showing an earlier theft by Lawson combined with the argument that Lawson must have also committed a recent theft because, “Once a thief, always a thief,” will not be allowed.
Question Root: Lawson is still being tried for robbing a bank in 2015. Lawson lives in Buchanan. The robbery occurred in Fillmore. The prosecutor wants to introduce evidence that Lawson’s car was spotted parked at a convenience store in Fillmore shortly before the robbery to show that Lawson was in Fillmore that day and, hence, had the opportunity to rob the bank. What kind of evidence is testimony about the parked car? ANSWERS a. This is direct evidence. b. This is parallel evidence. c. This is circumstantial evidence. d. This is irrelevant evidence.
c. CORRECT: It is circumstantial evidence that Lawson was also in Fillmore, but to reach that conclusion the jury must draw an inference that Lawson drove or rode in his car to Fillmore that day. There could be other explanations for why Lawson’s car was there. Careful investigators will try to find other evidence supporting that inference. For example, Lawson’s credit card could have been used to buy gas at the store and to pay tolls at a toll booth on the way in and the way out of Fillmore.
Lawson is still being tried for robbing a bank in 2015. Lawson‘s defense counsel has just finished presenting the direct examination of Calliope Calhoun. Calhoun testified that she was with Lawson all day in Buchanan the day the bank was robbed in Fillmore. This alibi is relevant because it shows that Lawson could not have been in Fillmore to rob the bank. The prosecutor has learned that Calhoun has a prior felony conviction. Which of the following MUST also be true in order to guarantee that the prosecutor can use the prior felony conviction to impeach Calliope Calhoun?
a. The felony conviction must be a conviction for perjury or false statements.
b. The felony conviction must be less than 10 years old, as measured from the later of: [1] the date Calhoun was convicted; or [2] the date Calhoun was released from prison.
c. The felony conviction was NOT Calhoun’s first conviction.
d. This is a trick question because this kind of propensity evidence cannot be used to impeach Calhoun.
b. CORRECT: The conviction (whether for felony or misdemeanor) must be less than 10 years old, as measured from the later of: [1] the date Calhoun was convicted; or [2] the date Calhoun was released from prison. Older convictions can be used ONLY at the discretion of the trial judge.
