hearsay barbri Flashcards
Is a certified judgment of a civil defendant’s acquittal in a prior criminal case admissible?
No. Judgments of felony convictions may be admitted to prove any fact essential to the judgment. However, prior acquittals are not admissible under the public records exception.
In regards to the business record exception, if the opponent shows that the record lacks trustworthiness is this sufficient to exclude the record from evidence?
Yes. (think of the source of the information)
For the family history exception to hearsay, must the declarant be unavailable?
YES
What are the requirements for the “Catch All” hearsay exception?
The statement must possess “sufficient guarantees of trustworthiness.”
The statement must be more probative as to the fact for which it is offered than any other evidence that the proponent can obtain through reasonable efforts.
The proponent must give notice in advance of trial to the adverse party as to the nature of the statement. Such notice generally must be given in writing in advance of the trial or hearing, but may be given in any form during the trial or hearing if the court, for good cause, excuses a lack of earlier notice.
On the issue of whether Defendant assaulted Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s witness testifies that Defendant told her, “I beat up Plaintiff last night”
Is this statement hearsay?
Although it is an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted (i.e., that Defendant beat up Plaintiff), it is also a statement by an opposing party (i.e., a statement made by a party and offered against that party), which is considered nonhearsay under the Federal Rules.
Are police records admissible in civil cases?
Yes under the business record exception
Under the statements of personal or family history exception to the hearsay rule, must the declarant be a member of the family in question?
Under the statements of personal or family history exception to the hearsay rule, the declarant must be a member of the family in question or otherwise intimately associated with the family. Although most jurisdictions require that the declarant be related by blood or marriage to the family whose history is involved, the Federal Rules have extended this requirement to admit statements by declarants who are so intimately associated with the family that they are likely to have accurate information concerning the matters declared (e.g., the family doctor).
Is a deed, will, or other document establishing or affecting an interest in property admissible under the Federal Rules?
A statement in a document that establishes or affects an interest in property is hearsay, but it is generally admissible as an exception to the hearsay rule if relevant to the document’s purpose
What are the five most important hearsay exceptions that require unavailability?
The five important exceptions requiring the declarant’s unavailability are:
(i) former testimony,
(ii) statements against interest,
(iii) dying declarations,
(iv) statements of personal or family history, and
(v) statements offered against party procuring declarant’s unavailability
In a criminal prosecution charging the defendant with driving while intoxicated, the prosecution seeks to admit into evidence a police report indicating that the police officer who pulled the defendant over observed him and noticed that he was intoxicated. Is the police report admissible?
The report is not admissible. Although there are hearsay exceptions for public reports and business records, police officers’ observations contained in police reports are inadmissible against the defendant in criminal cases. This does not, however, preclude the officer from testifying about his own recollections as to whether the defendant appeared intoxicated.
What are the three requirements for the catch all hearsay exception?
First, the statement must have “sufficient guarantees of trustworthiness.”
The statement must be more probative as to the fact for which it is offered than any other evidence that the proponent can obtain through reasonable efforts.
Finally, the proponent must give reasonable notice to the adverse party as to the nature of the statement. There is no requirement that the statement be corroborated by other evidence, or that the proponent must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the statement is reliable
a statement establishing or affecting an interest in property (e.g., deed, will, etc.) is __________.
A statement in a document that establishes or affects an interest in property is hearsay, but it is generally admissible as an exception to the hearsay rule if relevant to the document’s purpose
Does a person who made the entry need to be unavailable to testify in order for the entry to be admissible?
No.
Does the declarant need to be unavailable for the hearsay exception of statements against interest?
Yes
Under the Federal Rules, a learned treatise can be established as reliable authority by
Expert testimony or judicial notice
