Evidence Rules

What are the hearsay exemptions? (Not hearsay defined)

1) Prior inconsistent statements

2) Prior consistent statements

3) Out of court identification

4) Statement by party opponents

What are the policy rules?

1) subsequent remedial measures

2) offers and statements during settlement

3) offers to pay medical expenses

4) offers and statements during plea bargaining

5) liability insurance

What are the reliability exceptions to hearsay?

1) present sense impression

2) excited utterance

3) state of mind

4) statement for medical diagnosis

5) recorded recollection

6) business records

7) public records

8) ancient documents

What are the necessity exceptions to hearsay?

1) former testimony

2) dying declarations

3) statements against interest

What is the last resort exception to hearsay?

Residual exception

Character evidence is being offered against who?

A party or a victim.

What are permissible purposes for character evidence?

MIMIC (motive, intent, mistake, identity, and common plan) and habit.

Is character evidence to prove propensity ever admissible in a criminal case?

Yes

Is character evidence to prove propensity ever admissible in a civil case?

No

What are the mercy rules and what type of evidence does it apply to?

Mercy rules apply to character evidence. Mercy rules allow a defendant in a criminal cause to introduce character evidence about his character or the victim’s character: (1) pertinent trait of the defendant’s good character; (2) pertinent trait of the victim’s bad character; or (3) in a homicide case, that the victim was the first aggressor.

What are the proper modes of impeachment?

1) memory

2) bias

3) perception

4) prior inconsistent statements

5) criminal convictions (felony and crimes of dishonesty

6) character of untruthfulness (opinion/reputation and specific instances).

Impeachment applies to who?

Witness

What types of privileges are there?

1) attorney-client/work product

2) psychotherapist-patient

3) clergy communicant

4) spousal (marital communicant and spousal immunity)

5) self-incrimination

Does spousal immunity privilege apply to civil cases?

No

Types of witness testimony?

Lay witness and expert witness.

What is the first rule that should always be argued?

Relevance

What is the last rule that should always be argued?

403 prejudice

What are the bad purposes of subsequent remedial measures policy rules?

1) negligence

2) culpable conduct

3) a defect in a product or its design

4) need for a warning or instruction

What are the bad purposes of statements and offers during settlement negotiations?

1) the validity or amount of disputed claim

2) impeach a witness

What are the good purposes (no exclusive) of statements and offers during settlement negotiations?

1) bias

2) undue delay

3) effort to obstruct a criminal investigation

What is the bad purpose of offers to pay medical?

to prove liability

What are the good purposes for statements and offers during criminal plea bargaining?

1) perjury

2) fairness dictates that it should be admitted with other admissible statements for purposes of completeness

What are the bad purposes for liability insurance?

1) negligence

2) wrongful conduct

What are good purposes of liability insurance? (not exclusive)

1) bias

2) agency, ownership, or control

What are the bad purposes of hearsay defined?

TOMA

What are the good purposes of hearsay defined?

1) impeachment (not the fancy kind)

2) effect on the hearer

3) circumstantial evidence of declarant’s state of mind

4) legal act

5) knowledge/notice

What is the bad purpose of character evidence?

Propensity

What are the good purposes for subsequent remedial measures?

1) impeachment 2) agency, ownership, or control.

What are the good purposes for offers to pay medical?

anything other than liability