Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

PS 317 > Second Test > Flashcards

Second Test Flashcards

1
Q

What governs evidence in federal courts?

A

Federal Rules of Evidence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

How many basic types of evidence are there?

A

4

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is a testimony?

A

Oral questioning under oath by a competent witness

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What defines a lay witness?

A

A witness who gives a testimony about a subject he has personal knowledge of

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What defines an expert witness?

A

A witness who testifies about conclusions that may be drawn based on her expertise

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Federal rule of evidence 601 provides what?

A

The General Rule of Competency

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

FRE 701 defines what?

A

Opinions and expert testimony

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

FRE 702 governs what?

A

Testimony by experts

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is an exhibit?

A

A physical piece of evidence that is offered to the court for examination

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

How many types of exhibits are there?

A

3

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is actual evidence?

A

Tangible items that could be admitted into evidence on basis of a motion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is documentary evidence?

A

Type of actual evidence that can include writings

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is demonstrative evidence?

A

Type of actual evidence that is created for use in court (diagrams/photographs)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What does FRE 1001 define?

A

Contents of writings, recordings, and photographs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

True or false: a duplicate cannot be defined as an original, even if it accurately reproduces the original

A

False

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What are stipulations?

A

Undisputed facts which the parties have agreed upon through their lawyers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is judicial notice?

A

An action taken by the court when it believes that the information is common knowledge or public record

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Which is more common: direct or circumstantial evidence?

A

Circumstantial

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Direct evidence essentially does what?

A

proves a point

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Circumstantial evidence is used for what?

A

Drawing inferences

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is relevancy?

A

the standard by which testimony or physical evidence is evaluated

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What are the two prongs to the relevancy test?

A

1- Whether the evidence tends to prove or disprove a fact of consequence
2- Whether the evidence should be withheld from the jury because it is confusing or unduly prejudicial

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What does FRE 402 state?

A

Relevant evidence is generally admissible; irrelevant evidence is inadmissible

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What is impeachment in a court setting?

A

a technique used to attack a witness’ credibility

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
What are the most common attributes used to discredit a witness?
- Personal bias - Prior inconsistent statements - Prior convictions - Character for untruthfulness
26
What does FRE 607 say about who can impeach?
Any party can impeach, including the one calling the witness
27
What does FRE 608 control?
How to present evidence or character and conduct of a witness
28
What does FRE 801 define?
Hearsay
29
What is hearsay?
A statement made while the other speaker is not in court and not under oath, but is offered to prove the truth of a statement
30
True or false: Hearsay can be admissible evidence, thanks to over 20 exceptions
True
31
True or false: FRE 801 (c) defines hearsay. FRE 801 (d) defines what is not hearsay
True
32
FRE 803 and 804 provide what?
over 20 exceptions to the hearsay rule
33
Having the actual speaker come into court gives the attorneys the opportunity to do what?
Scrutinize the testimony
34
Laws are categorized according to their sources as either:
Constitutional law or case law
35
The Constitution has how many articles and how many amendments?
7 Articles, 27 amendments
36
Stare Decisis is limited in what two ways?
- Only applies between higher and lower courts | - only applies to decisions within the legal system from which they came
37
What are statutes at large?
laws enacted by legislature that are published in the order that they are passed
38
What is a code?
A topical organization of statutes
39
When drafted, a proposal is called what?
A bill
40
Tax bills must originate from where?
The House
41
What are executive options?
The President's power to sign/approve the bill or veto it
42
If the Congress is adjourned, and the President does nothing with the bill, what happens?
Pocket veto
43
True or false: a 2/3 majority of each house is required to override a presidential veto
True
44
In the states, statutory law may be created through voter process, called what?
Initiative
45
Sponsors take their proposal to the general public as what?
a petition
46
Some laws initiated in state legislatures may need voter approval, called what?
Referendum
47
What is the process of locating, digesting, and understanding the law on a particular topic?
Legal Research
48
What constitutes a primary source in legal collections?
Constitutions, statutes, rules/regulations, case law
49
What constitutes a secondary source in legal collections?
Dictionaries, encyclopedias, periodicals, digests, citations
50
What are the three steps to doing legal research?
- Know the facts - Analyze the facts - identify the issues
51
Facts may be what?
- Relevant - Explanatory - Unnecessary
52
Finding tools are secondary sources that contain what?
Annotations
53
What is a law review?
An in-depth coverage of a specific legal issue or case, published by a law school
54
What is a treatise?
Books that review a specific field of law, often called a hornbook
55
What is a digest?
Sets of books that provide an index to reported cases arranged by subject with a brief of summary cases
56
What are reporters (case law)?
Cases collected in sets of books
57
Who provides Lexis-Nexis?
Reed Elsevier
58
Who provides Westlaw?
West Publishing Company
59
Cases decided by federal courts are published in what?
Federal Reporters
60
What are the United States Reports?
Official publication of supreme court cases that is published by the federal government
61
What is the Supreme Court Reporter?
An unofficial publication of all supreme court cases, published by west publishing company
62
What is the lawyer's edition?
An unofficial publication of all Supreme Court cases, published by Lexis-Law
63
Opinions of US Courts of appeals appear in the what?
Federal Reporter
64
Cases from US district courts appear in the what?
Federal Supplement
65
What are the seven regional reporters?
- Atlantic - Northeastern - Northwestern - Pacific - Southeastern - Southern - Southwestern
66
What is a case brief?
A short summary of a published case
67
Judicial history, facts, issues, rules, analysis, conclusion are parts of what?
A case brief
68
Citing legal authorities follows what style?
Bluebook style
69
What is a concurring opinion?
Separate opinion that agrees with the majority opinion, but with different reasoning
70
What is a dissenting opinion?
Disagreement with majority opinion
71
What is an informal, interoffice document written to communicate the results of legal research and subsequent legal analysis called?
A legal memorandum
72
What are point headings?
Headings at the beginning of each section in a memorandum that guide the reader through it
73
True or false: a legal memo should have a statement of facts and a conclusion/answer bank
True

PS 317 (5 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions