Evidence Flashcards
When is evidence relevant?
What is the test for excluding logically relevant evidence under FRE 403?
Should relevant evidence be excluded due to the danger of unfair prejudice if the evidence would cause unfair surprise to a party or witness?
For what reasons may a court exclude logically relevant evidence under FRE 403
To what extent can an evidentiary hearing be conducted in the presence of a jury?
Can evidence of liability insurance be used to prove that D owned a vehicle in question?
When is evidence of subsequent remedial measures admissible? For what reason would it be inadmissible?
To what extent are settlements or offers to settle admissible in civil cases?
If introduced to prove guilt, are statements D made during plea negotiations admissible in a criminal case?
For what purpose would evidence of an offer to pay medical expenses by inadmissible?
For what reasons could evidence of prior similar occurrences be deemed admissible?
What type of prior conduct may be admissible as evidence of habit?
For what purpose is character evidence generally inadmissible?
When can character evidence be admissible?
If D in a criminal trial introduces evidence of her good character, what are the potential consequences?
If D in a criminal trial calls a W to testify to D’s good character, can W offer opinion evidence?
If D introduces evidence of his good character in a criminal trial, how can the prosecution rebut?
In what instances can the prosecution initiate introduction of evidence of D’s character?
Can the prosecution initiate the introduction of evidence of the victim’s character to prove conduct?
What determines whether D, in a civil sexual assault case, may introduce evidence of the victim’s character?
When may D introduce reputation or opinion evidence of the victim in a criminal sexual assault case?
In what situations may D introduce specific instances evidence of victim’s sexual behavior in a criminal sexual assault case?
If D wants to introduce any evidence of a victim’s character in a sexual assault case, what procedure is required?
Are specific instances of D’s prior bad acts/conduct admissible? If so, for what purpose?
What are common ways that evidence of D’s prior acts can be admissible?
What is impeachment evidence?
In what ways may a witness be impeached (i.e., what are the different methods of impeachment)?
May evidence supporting a witness’s credibility be introduced if the witness has not been impeached?
What is extrinsic evidence? In what way is it prohibited for impeachment purposes?
When would an issue be considered a collateral matter for impeachment purposes? How do you determine if an issue is collateral?
When would extrinsic evidence of a fact that contradicts a witness’s testimony be admissible?
What type of evidence may be used to show that a W has made contradictory statements on material issues?
How can a prior inconsistent statement be used for impeachment purposes?
If a prior inconsistent statement constitutes hearsay, is it admissible?
To what extent may a witness be impeached by prior instances of misconduct?
What requirement must be met to impeach a witness by establishing bias?
Can a witness be impeached based on their reputation for truthfulness?
If a witness has a recent misdemeanor conviction for assault, can the prior conviction be used for impeachment? What about if the witness is the D?
If a witness who is not the D was convicted for fraud six years ago, can the prior conviction be used for impeachment?
If a D-witness has a felony conviction for battery from last year, can the prior conviction be used for impeachment? What about if the witness is not the D?
When can a prior conviction more than ten years old be used for impeachment purposes?
What requirement must be met for any testifying witness?
To be deemed competent, what qualifications must a witness have?
If a witness cannot recall exact specifics of an event, but has basic memory of the event, will the witness be deemed competent to testify?
In what situations may a witness be excluded from hearing other witnesses’ testimony?
Can a party who is a witness be excluded from hearing other witnesses’ testimony?
If a document is used to refresh a witness’s memory during testimony, what rules apply?
If a document is used to refresh a witness’s memory during testimony, can the witness read from the document?
What requirements must be satisfied for a recorded recollection to be read into evidence?
Can the contents of a document a witness has never seen or heard be read into evidence as a recorded recollection?
If a document is used to refresh a witness’s memory during her testimony (i.e., present recollection refreshed), is the document read into evidence?
If a recorded recollection contains hearsay, is it admissible?
What is a leading question and when is it acceptable? When is it improper?
In what circumstances would an objection to a question as beyond the scope of direct be proper?
Can an objection to the form of a question asked on Day 1 of a trial be made on Day 2?
What requirements must be satisfied for a witness to give lay opinion evidence?
In what situations can a lay opinion witness offer legal conclusions during testimony?
For a witness to qualify as an expert, their expert opinion must satisfy what requirements?
What additional requirements must be satisfied for expert opinion based on science?
Can expert witness testimony include opinions on ultimate legal issues?
Under what Federal Rule of Evidence is the attorney-client privilege?
If a case is in federal court under diversity jurisdiction, what testimonial privileges will apply?
Can a witness in a civil trial invoke the privilege against self-incrimination?
If a witness in a civil trial invokes their 5th Amend. right against self-incrimination, may the jury draw any inferences as a result?
In what ways can a D be punished for invoking their 5th Amend. right against self-incrimination in a criminal trial?
In what situations would a communication between an attorney and client be protected by attorney-client privilege?
If an attorney represents an organization as a client, to whom in the organization does the attorney-client privilege apply?
In what situations would an otherwise privileged communication not be protected by the attorney-client privilege?
If a client admits to his attorney that he committed a crime three years ago and got away with it, will the crime exception to the attorney-client privilege apply?
Is an attorney’s fee agreement with a client protected under the attorney-client privilege?
Two business partners meet with an attorney, who they have jointly hired to form their business. They later get into a lawsuit with each other over the business and their respective roles. Can either party claim attorney-client privilege to prevent testimony from the attorney?
When will a communication between a patient and physician be privileged?
A motorcyclist has sued another driver for injuries sustained in a crash. Can he protect his communications with his physician under physician-patient privilege?
What types of communications between a patient and doctor are not protected by the physician-patient privilege?
What is the scope of the psychotherapist/social worker-patient privilege and when does it apply?
If a person’s spouse is the D in a civil trial, to what extent can the spousal testimonial privilege protect communications between the spouses?
May a spouse who is not the D in a criminal trial invoke the spousal testimonial privilege if called to testify?
When does the spousal testimonial privilege apply and what is the scope of its protection?
If a husband tells his friend about a conversation he had with his wife, will it still be protected by the marital privilege in a later proceeding?
How does the marital communications privilege work? When does it apply and who may invoke it?
What exceptions limit invocation of the marital communications privilege?
What basic requirement must be satisfied for any item of physical evidence to be introduced?
When will an ancient document be automatically authenticated?
How is a non-unique item (i.e., an item indistinguishable from others of its kind) authenticated?
What types of writings would be considered self-authenticating? What does that mean?
Would comparing an item sought to be introduced as physical evidence with an already-introduced item suffice to prove the item’s authentication?
What is the Best Evidence Rule and when would it apply to a piece of evidence?
What is the Completeness Doctrine and when does it apply?
Are duplicates acceptable to prove a writing’s contents for purposes of the Best Evidence Rule?
When must a court take judicial notice of laws?
What is judicial notice and what effect does it have?
What types of facts are appropriate for judicial notice?
In what situations would it be appropriate for a presiding judge to be called by a party to testify at trial?
What is the definition of hearsay and what is considered a “statement” for hearsay purposes?
What is the practical difference between a hearsay exception and hearsay exemption?
Can a witness’s own prior out-of-court statement be hearsay?
When are out-of-court statements not considered hearsay?
What are statements of independent legal significance and why might they not be considered hearsay?
In what common ways can out-of-court statements be admissible as non-hearsay (as opposed to a hearsay exception or exemption)?
What is an adoptive admission statement and when can it arise?
What are vicarious admissions and in what situations can they frequently arise?
When can a prior consistent statement be introduced as a non-hearsay exemption?
When can a co-conspirator’s statements be admissible as a statement of party-opponent?
Can a statement made by a gas station employee be admissible as a party-opponent statement offered against the gas station owner? If so, when?
When can a declarant-witness’s prior statement be admissible?
What are the hearsay exceptions where declarant’s unavailability is required?
What are the hearsay exceptions where it does not matter whether declarant is unavailable?
In what situations would a declarant be unavailable for hearsay purposes?
When is former testimony admissible?
What is a predecessor in interest for purposes of the former testimony hearsay exception?
What is a statement against interest for hearsay purposes? What requirements must be met for it to be admissible?
For a statement against interest to be admissible, must the declarant be a party in the proceeding?
What is a dying declaration and when would it be admissible for hearsay purposes?
To qualify as a dying declaration must declarant of the statement be deceased?
Could a hearsay statement be admitted as a dying declaration in a criminal trial where D is accused of fraud? What about a civil trial?
Would a hearsay statement describing a crime witnessed by declarant be admissible as a present sense impression if the statement was made the day after the crime occurred? Why or why not?
When is a hearsay statement admissible under the present sense impression exception?
When would a hearsay statement be admissible under the excited utterance exception?
For what purposes may a hearsay statement of then-existing state of mind be admissible?
A hearsay statement of then-existing condition can be admitted for what purpose?
When may a hearsay statement regarding physical condition made for diagnosis or treatment be admissible?
Would a patient’s out-of-court statement made to a nurse about the patient’s symptoms be admissible as a statement of physical condition?
What are the requirements for admissibility of a hearsay statement under the Business Records Exception?
Why might there be more than one hearsay issue when an out-of-court statement implicates the Business Records Exception?
Can a police report be admitted as a business record in a criminal case?
Are business records admissible to show an absence of records regarding a given event or issue? If so, what is required?
What types of records would the Public Records hearsay exception apply to?
What are the requirements for admissibility of a hearsay statement under the Public Records Exception?
When are records from criminal investigative agencies (e.g., police) inadmissible under the Public Records Exception? When would they be admissible?
To what extent are judgments and prior convictions admissible under the Public Records Exception?
To what extent (if at all) is a D’s prior criminal conviction admissible in a criminal case against her?
How can a party prove through admissible evidence that a public record does not exist?
For what purposes may the absence of a public record be established? How is this established?
In what type of testimony could the Learned Treatise hearsay exception arise? What is a learned treatise and how can it be used?
When will an out-of-court statement be excluded under the Confrontation Clause?
What constitutes a testimonial statement for purposes of the Confrontation Clause?
Can business records be excluded under the Confrontation Clause?
When will an out-of-court statement by a non-testifying co-defendant be inadmissible under the Confrontation Clause?
In what exceptions can a co-D’s out-of-court statement be admissible?
