Witnesses Flashcards
602 & 603 - List the elements of a competent witness.
: a competent witness has (1) personal knowledge; and (2) must take an oath or affirmation to tell the truth.
602 - Personal Knowledge and how to establish it?
: a non-expert witness must have personal knowledge of the matter they’re testifying about; personal knowledge may be established by witness testimony and other means.
603 - Oath or Affirmation
: a witness must give an oath or affirmation to testify truthfully. Must be in a form designed to impress that duty on the witness’s conscience.
605 - Judge as a witness
: the presiding judge is barred from testifying as a witness; no objection is required to preserve the issue.
Juror as a witness
: a juror may not testify in front of other jury members and may only testify outside the jury’s presence regarding matters occurring during the trial (e.g. bribery, failure to follow instructions, etc.)
606b - After Trial/”No Impeachment Rule” - What’s not allowed when inquiring into the validity of a trial? What may the juror testify about? Does it apply to indictments by grand juries?
during an inquiry into the validity of a trial, a juror
: may not testify about (1) statements made/incidents that occurred during the jury’s deliberation; (2) the effect of anything upon the jurors or another’s vote; or (3) any juror’s mental process concerning the verdict.
: may testify about (1) extraneous prejudicial info (outside info) brought to jury’s attention; (2) outside influence (threats to life); and (3) mistake made in entering a verdict on the verdict form (doesn’t apply to mistakes about consequences of the agreed upon verdict).
: yes.
6th Amendment Right to Impartial Jury
: a Defendant has a right to an impartial jury. This right overrides the no-impeachment rule when a juror makes a post-verdict statement that she: relied on racial stereotypes/animus to convict CRD and the animus was a significant motivating factor in the juror’s vote to convict.
: the right does not override when the statement regards concerns such as the fact that jurors were under the influence during trial or that a juror failed to disclose pro-defendant bias during voir dire.
When is a child witness considered competent?
: the competence of child witnesses depends on (1) intelligence; (2) ability to differentiate between what’s true and false; (3) understanding the importance of telling the truth. Age is not a factor. A child who suffered abuse is rebuttably presumed to be competent to testify.
What kind of witness testimony does a deadman statute prohibit? What kinds of cases does it apply (CV or CR)?
: In federal civil law cases where state law applies, a party with an adverse financial interest in the outcome of a case cannot testify about the communications/transactions with a person whose estate was party to the case without a waiver.
What is the purpose of the deadman statute? Who are the protected parties?
: to protect decedent’s estate from parties with a financial interest in an estate. Protected parties include heirs, legatees, devisees, executors administrators.
Whos is disqualified by a deadman statute?
: any person affected financially by the outcome of the case including predecessors in interest and their representatives.
Who can waive the protection offered by a deadman statute? How?
: protected persons can waive by (1) failing to object to the introduction of testimony by disqualified witnesses, or (2) by introducing evidence of the conversation at a trial to which the statute applies.
