Witness Flashcards
Competence of a witness
every person is presumed to be competent to be a witness.
Do non-expert need to have personal knowledge in order to testify?
Yes. a non-expert witness must have personal knowledge of a matter in order to testify about that matter. personal knowledge may be established by the witness’s own testimony as well as other means (FRE 602)
Does a witness need to give an oath of affirmation?
yes. a witness must give an oath of affirmation to testify fully. (FRE 603)
Can a Judge be a witness?
no! the presiding judge is barred from testify as a witness in trial. A party is not required to object in order to preserve the issue. (FRE 605)
Can a Juror be a witness at trial?
no ! a juror may not testify as a witness at trial in front of the member of the jury. if a juror is called to testify, the opposing party must be given opportunity to object outside the presence of a jury. a juror may be called to testify outside the presence of the other jurors as to matters that occur during the trial, such as bribery of a juror (FRE 606 (a)
Can a Juror be a witness after a trial?
a juror may testify whether (1) extraneous prejudicial information was brought to the jury’s attention. (2) an outside influence was improperly brought to bear on a juror (3) a mistake was made in entering the verdict onto the verdict form.
Can a child be a witness?
a witness who is so young that he is unable to understand the requirement to tell the truth would be disqualified. (Wheeler v. United State). there is, however, no specific age at which a person becomes competent. the decision with regards to competency is one for the court.
