Evidence Flashcards
Voice Identification
A voice can be identified by any person who has heard the voice at any time.
The Rule of Completeness
The rule of completeness applies when a party presents a portion of written or recorded evidence and the adverse party seeks to compel the opposing party to introduce relevant omitted portions of the written statement or prior statement if, in fairness, it should be considered at the same time, such as when the omitted portion explains or clarifies the admitted portion.
Irrelevant portions of the evidence will not be admissible and the adverse party is not compelled to require the introduction of omitted portions of evidence. The adverse party may seek to introduce the evidence at a subsequent time, such as on cross-examination.
Judicial Notice
Judicial notice is the court’s acceptance of a fact as true without requiring formal proof. Judicial notice may only be taken of adjudicative facts, which are facts of the case at hand, such as facts related to the parties and their activities, and facts that should be decided by the jury.
Not all adjudicative facts are warranted judicial notice.
In order for judicial notice to be extended to an adjudicative fact, the fact must not be subject to a reasonable dispute because the fact is generally known in the territorial jurisdiction of the trail court or the fact can be readily and accurately be determined by sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be question.
Judicial Notice and the right to be heard
At anytime, on a party’s request, the judge must give the party an opportunity to be heard on the propriety of the judicial notice and nature of the facts to be noticed.
Judicial Notice and Jury Instructions
In a civil case - the jury must be instructed to accept the judicially noticed fact as conclusive.
In a criminal case - the jury must be instructed not to accept any judicially noticed fact as conclusive.
Leading Questions
A leading question is a question that suggests the answer in the question. They are generally not permitted on direct examination. A leading question may be permissible on direct examination to elicit undisputed preliminary background information, in order to assist a party with difficulty communicating due to age or a mental or physical condition. Leading questions are also permissible when questioning a hostile or antagonistic witness.
Although the suggestive powers of leading questions are generally considered undesirable, leading questions are ordinarily allowed during cross-examination. However, the use of leading questions may be restricted when the cross-examination is cross-examination in form only, rather than in fact, such as when a party is cross-examined by his own lawyer after having been called as a witness by an opposing party. Such “cross-examination” is too suggestive.
Character Evidence
Generally, character evidence is inadmissible in civil cases to prove that a person acted in accordance with that character trait on a particular occasion. However, character evidence is admissible in civil cases in which character is an essential element of a claim or defense.
Collateral matters
Generally, a party may not impeach the credibility of a witness by introducing extrinsic evidence of a collateral matter. Instead, the party must accept the witness’s testimony.
Rape Shield Rule
Under the “rape shield” rule, evidence offered to prove the sexual behavior or sexual predisposition of a victim (or alleged victim) generally is not admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding involving sexual misconduct.
Impeachment Evidence
A witness may be impeached by showing a deficiency in her testimonial capacities to perceive, recall, or relate information. This can be achieved by demonstrating that the witness is physically or mentally impaired, or through evidence of outside interference with the witness’s abilities, such as thunder impeding the ability to hear or darkness impeding the ability to see
A civil engineer was called by the plaintiff to testify in a negligence suit against a construction company. Although the construction company objected to the qualification of the engineer as an expert in the field of structural engineering, the court overruled the objection and allowed the civil engineer to testify as an expert witness. On cross-examination, the construction company’s attorney wants to ask the engineer about his class rank when he graduated with his engineering degree. Is the engineer’s response likely admissible?
Yes, because it is relevant to the weight that should be given to the engineer’s testimony.
Even when an expert is qualified to offer expert testimony, a party may challenge an expert witness’s qualifications and knowledge in the field to cast doubt on his credibility or the weight that should be given to his testimony. Therefore, this is a proper question on cross-examination of the engineer, and the engineer’s response is likely admissible.
Demonstrations and Experiments
A court may allow demonstrations and experiments to be performed in the courtroom. Science experiments are permitted but may be excluded if they will result in an undue waste of time or confusion of the issues.
Evidence of Juvenile Convictions
Evidence of juvenile adjudications is not admissible in civil cases. The court may occasionally permit evidence of a juvenile adjudication of a witness other than the accused under certain circumstances, but only in a criminal trial
