Exercise#19: Evidence Using the Federal Rules of Evidence please complete follow

Question

Exercise#19: Evidence

Using the Federal Rules of Evidence please complete following:

Please provide your explanation of the text of the Rule stating that evidence must be relevant, and provide the rule number.

2. Please provide the Rule number defining hearsay.

3. What are “writings” and “photographs” according to the Rule? Please also provide the Rule numbers.

4. According to the Rules, does it matter if a declarant is available to testify in considering exceptions to hearsay? Please state the applicable Rule numbers.

5. Please provide the rule number that is commonly refereed to as the “Best Evidence” rule.

6. Is your weekly habit of attending an AA meeting ever admissible in a court of law? Explain you answer.

7. What is the “Rape Shield” and what purpose does it serve?

8. Can a witness character be attacked by evidence of the witness’s prior conviction of a crime?

9. Can the testimony of a witness with knowledge serve as “authentication”? Please provide the applicable rule number.

10. If the defendant in a negligence suit has made a settlement offer in the past, can the settlement offer be introduced at trial to show that he may be liable? Why or why not?

Explanation / Answer

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1. Article IV, Rules 401 to 415 belongs to the federal laws on relevance and the limitations of the relevance

The rule 411 says that if the accused has molested children in other cases that could be taken as a relevant evidence for this case – as this proved that the accused has a taste or liking for molesting kids.

Hence if a jury provides material evidence against the accused, the court may consider it in the lights of the law

2. Article VIII Rues from 801 to 807

Hearsay is the 2nd hand statement made by a person other than the declarant.

Say, John murdered Peter; Hendry saw this. Henry told Abraham (outside the court) that he saw John killing Peter. When Abraham declares this fact in the court, it is a hear say because Abraham is saying what he heard – not what he saw.

The actual declarant is the person (Henry) who makes the statement of the incident.

So, hearsay means, saying what you heard.

It is not considered as evidence in the court, because, it lacks the 3 rules of evidence: viz.

1. Oath, swearing or the solid affirmation in the court in front of the jury and the judge,
2. The witness (Henry) is not available in the court for the testimony to be heard 1st hand by the judge and the jury

3. The witness is not available for cross examination by the court officials like the opposite party lawyers and barristers.

Question 3)

Writings, Photographs are covered by the Article X – Rules 1001 to Rule 1007

As per this rule, writings are words, phrases, sentences in written form, numbers, paragraphs in any written form – includes both hand written, typed, type set, printed from a computer.

Photographs are those images, pictures, photos stored in any form like a softcopy or a printed hard copy photo. Both negatives and the images printed from it would be included.

4)

Rule 803 of the Article VIII Hearsay

It does not matter whether the declarant is available to testify while considering the exception to hearsay.

Past case:

This happened in between the years 1995 and 1997.

Husband = OJ Simpson

Wife = Nicole Brown Simpson

Friend of Wife = Ronald Lyle Goldman

Accusation = OJ Simpson killed both Brown and Ronald

What the prosecutors found: Some sort of diary written by Mrs. Brown, explaining her problems with Simpson – but the court did not accept that as evidence because, it was a hearsay evidence. More over it does meet any of the hearsay exceptions like:

Category 1: It is immaterial whether the declarant (Brown) is available to testify.

Simpson was acquitted (released, found not guilty, set free);

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5) Rule number 1001 is for the best evidence rule;

The original copy of the document serves as the superior or the top most evidence.

6. Yes, because it happens during a normal course of business – it will be accepted in the same light as the minutes of the meeting.

7. The purpose was to protect the victims of the rape. The Rape shield law disables the defendant from cross examining the victim and also the defendant cannot introduce other evidences on his support. This is to protect the victims from the negative effects of the trauma of being raped.

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