Examination of Witness, Competency and Opinions

Question 1

Dead Man Acts generally provide that a party or person interested in the event, or his predecessor in interest,is incompetent to testify to a personal transaction or communication with a deceased, when

Answer 1

such testimony is offered against the representative or successors in interest of the deceased.

Question 2

The purpose of the Dead Man Act is

Answer 2

to protect estates from perjured claims. Thus, the bar to competency applies only to civil cases and has no application in criminal cases (e.g., homicide cases).

Question 3

In a deposition, objections as to relevance are not waived if they are

Answer 3

not waived during the deposition

Question 4

Objections going to the substance of a question or answer (e.g., relevance, hearsay) can be postponed until

Answer 4

the deposition is offered into evidence.

Question 5

When a memorandum is used at trial to refresh a witness’s recollection, it may be used solely

Answer 5

to refresh recollection and need not be authenticated.

Question 6

The writing intended to help the witness to recall by jogging her memory, but the witness usually may not

Answer 6

read from the writing while testifying.

Question 7

Under Federal Rule 703, the expert may base an opinion upon facts not known personally but supplied to him outside the courtroom, and such facts need not be in evidence or even of a type admissible in evidence, as long as

Answer 7

the facts are of a kind reasonably relied on by experts in the particular field.

Question 8

If an expert witness relies on facts of a type inadmissible in evidence, the proponent of the expert opinion must not disclose those facts to the jury unless

Answer 8

the court determines their probative value in assisting the jury to evaluate the expert’s opinion substantially outweighs the prejudicial effect

Question 9

If the expert has examined the person about whom he is testifying,

Answer 9

He may relate those facts observed by him and on which he bases his opinion.

Question 10

T/F? An experts opinion may be based on personal observation.

Answer 10

True.

Question 11

An expert may give opinion testimony on direct examination without disclosing the basis of the opinion, unless the court orders otherwise. BUT

Answer 11

the expert may be required to disclose such information on cross-examination.

Question 12

An expert’s opinion may be based upon the evidence introduced at the trial and communicated to the expert by counsel, usually in the form of

Answer 12

A hypothetical question.

Question 13

If a specific objection is sustained and the evidence is excluded, the ruling will be upheld on appeal only if

Answer 13

the ground stated was a correct one.

Question 14

If a general objection is overruled and the evidence admitted, the objection is not available on appeal unless

Answer 14

the evidence was not admissible under any circumstances for any purpose.

Question 15

Lay opinion is permissible and often essential to identify telephone voices and handwriting. In these instances a foundation must first be laid to show

Answer 15

the witness’s familiarity with the voice or handwriting.

Question 16

An insane person, even one who has been adjudicated incompetent, may testify, provided he understands

Answer 16

1) the obligation to speak truthfully and 2) possesses the capacity to give a correct account of what he has perceived in reference to the dispute.

Question 17

The four basic testimonial attributes that every witness must have to some degree are:

Answer 17

the capacity to 1) observe, 2) recollect, 3) communicate, and 4) to appreciate the obligation to speak truthfully.

Question 18

What is the precise age at which an underage person is competent to testify?

Answer 18

There is no precise age, the competence depends on the capacity and intelligence of the individual, as determined by the trial judge.