Witnesses Flashcards
Under what situations can a witness in a criminal case not be excluded from the court room?
1) W is the victim in the crime
2) W is the victim’s next of kin
3) The parent or guardian of minor child victim
4) The lawful rep of such person - unless court determines that it is prejudicial.
What sources of information can an expert us?
1) Facts from own observation
2) Facts presented in evidence at trial and submitted ot expert
3) Facts not in evidence that were supplied out of court
4) Facts not an evidence that are of a type reasonably relied upon by such experts.
Under what cases an learned treatises be used by experts?
1) During cross of an expert
2) Cannot read excerpts of publication into record as substantive evidence.
3) Cannot be used to bolster the experts credibility
Can lay witnesses use opinion testimony?
No - Generally must be reputation
What are exceptions to the no use of opinion testimony rule for law witnesses?
1) W cannot readily and with accuracy communicate what they saw without using opinion
2) Testimony will not mislead the trier of fact
3) Opinion does not require special knowledge or training
True or False: Lay W can testify about the sanity of a party if they had a chance to observe them.
True
Can a trial judge sum up the evidence or comment on the weight or on the creditability of a witness to the jury?
No - this is prohibited
When can learned treatises be used?
1) Only during the cross-exam of an expert
2) Excerpts cannot be read into the record as substance evidence
3) The text cannot be used to bolster the expert’s credibility
Can the text of a learned treatise be used to bolster the credibility of the expert?
No
What is required before a witness can be examined about a prior statement that is written?
The statement must be shown to the witness who wrote it.
True or False: Extrinsic Evidence cannot be used to impeach a witness.
False
Can a witness be impeached on direct?
Yes - whether or not the witness is hostile.
True or False: Witness testimony refreshed through hypnosis is per se inadmissible in a criminal case.
True
What is required for hypnotically refreshed testimony of a criminal defendant to be admissible?
1) Prosecutor must be given notice of the hypnosis session
2) Session was recorded to ensure proper procedures were followed
What is required before introduction of a statement by extrinsic evidence regarding W prior inconsistent statement?
Witness must be given an opportunity to explain or deny the prior inconsistent statement.
Opposing party must be given an opportunity to cross the witness.
