Evidence Flashcards
The Confrontation Clause
an accused has the right to be confronted by the witnesses against him. A hearsay statement will not be admitted-even if it falls within a hearsay exception-when: (i) the statement is offered against the accused in a criminal case; (ii) the declarant is unavailable; (iii) the statement was testimonial in nature; and (iv) the accused had no opportunity to cross-examine the declarant’s “testimonial” statement prior to trial.
The Supreme Court has established that if the primary purpose of police interrogation is to enable the police to help in an ongoing emergency, statements made in the course of the interrogation are nontestimonial. When the primary purpose of the interrogation is to establish or prove past events potentially relevant to a later criminal prosecution, statements are testimonial.
Impeachment by a specific instance of misconduct
a witness can be impeached on cross-examination by inquiry into a specific act of misconduct that is probative of truthfulness
Impeachment by extrinsic evidence of bad acts
a witness can be impeached on cross-examination by inquiry into specific instances of misconduct. The witness may not, however, be impeached by extrinsic evidence of bad acts. If, on cross-examination, the witness denies the act, extrinsic evidence cannot be offered to refute the answer.
Extrinsic evidence can be the testimony of another witness, document, etc.
Can a document that is used to refresh a witness’s recollection can be offered into evidence?
Pursuant to the Federal Rules of Evidence, when a witness has used a writing to refresh his recollection on the stand, the adverse party can introduce that writing into evidence.
Opinions by lay witnesses
Opinions by lay witnesses are generally inadmissible.
EXCEPTION: opinion is:
(i) rationally based on the perception of the witness;
(ii) helpful to a clear understanding of the testimony or to the determination of a fact in issue; and
(iii) not based on scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge
Character evidence
Character evidence describes a person’s disposition and is generally irrelevant and inadmissible in a civil case unless character is directly in issue.
Habit evidence
Habit evidence refers to a person’s regular response to a specific set of circumstances and is admissible to prove that the person acted in conformity with that habit.
Relevance
Evidence is relevant if it has any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.
However, even relevant evidence can be excluded by a judge if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, waste of time, or misleading the jury.
Impeachment
Impeachment means the casting of an adverse reflection of the veracity of a witness. A witness can be impeached by showing that she has a poor memory of the events about which she testifies, and it can be done on cross-examination or by the use of extrinsic evidence.
