MEE Rule Statements Flashcards
Hearsay is an
out of court statement that is offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted.
Hearsay evidence is generally inadmissible unless
it falls within a hearsay exception or exclusion
A present sense impression is an
out of court statement describing or explaining an event or condition that is made while or immediately after the declarant perceived it.
An excited utterance is a statement made about
a shocking or startling event made while the declarant is under the stress of excitement that it caused.
A statement that is made for the primary purpose of ascertaining past criminal conduct is
testimonial.
A statement made primarily to enable police to render aid to meet an ongoing emergency is
not testimonial.
For an out of court testimonial statement (hearsay) to be admissible against a criminal defendant, the 6th amendment
confrontation clause requires that the declarant must be unavailable and the defendant must have had a prior opportunity to cross-examine the declarant.
To determine whether a statement is testimonial requires an
objective analysis of the circumstances regardless of the subjective purposes of the participants.
A voice can be identified by
any person who has heard the voice at any time (including one made familiar coley for the purposes of litigation.)
A previous out of court identification of a person after perceiving that person is not hearsay and may be
admissible as substantive evidence by the testimony of the declarant-witness. Even if the witness has no memory of the prior identification, it will be admissible because the witness is subject to cross-examination about the prior identification.
In a criminal case, the prosecution is not permitted to introduce evidence of a defendant’s bad character to
prove that the defendant has a propensity to commit crimes and therefore is likely to have committed the crime in question.
Evidence of a defendant’s crimes or other wrongful acts are
admissible for non-propensity purposes such as proving motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake, or lack of accident.
Only ___ evidence is admissible
relevant evidence
Relevant evidence is that which
tends to make a material fact more or less probable
Hearsay is an
out of court statement that is offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted.
Hearsay is inadmisisble unless
it falls within an exception or an exclusion to the hearsay rule.
A hearsay statement may include
nonverbal conduct intended as an assertion, such as nodding yes.
A statement made by a party to the current litigation is not hearsay if it is offered by
an opposing party.
A statement of present intent, motive, or plan can be admissible as a
hearsay exception to prove conduct in conformity with that state of mind.
In a criminal case, the prosecution is not permitted to introduce evidence of a
defendant’s bad character to prove that the defendant has a propensity to commit crimes and therefore is likely to have committed the crime in question.
however, if the defendant makes their character an issue in a criminal case by offering evidence of their good character or the victim’s bad character, the
defendant opens the door to allow the prosecution to rebut that evidence.
A witness can be impeached by evidence that they have been
convicted of a crime that involved dishonesty or false statement, regardless of the punishment imposed or the prejudicial effect of the evidence.
A conviction for a crime not involving fraud or dishonesty is admissible to impeach only if the crime is:
punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year.
A crime involves dishonesty or false statement if establishing the elements of the crime requires
proof or admission of an act of dishonesty or false statement.
