Evidence: Outline

If rule does start with 4 or 9, apply 104(b). If rule does NOT start with 4 or 9, use 104(a). Erie rules 601 (W competency), 302 (presumptions), & 501 (privileges) look to CA law for these ARTICLE I: GENERAL PROVISIONS FRE 103(a) Rulings on Evidence To preserve an evidentiary issue for appeal, a party must object to the courts ruling. This protects the system against wasteful circumstances in which a party might tolerate an incorrect ruling in the hope of obtaining a favorable result at trial, but then seek reversal on the evidentiary ground if the result was unfavorable. FRE 104(a) Preliminary Questions: The trial judge, not the jury, decides whether evidence is admissible. For almost every possible objection to admission, the judge rules. There is only Questions of Admissibility one specific type of objection that is left for the jury to rule on, conditional relevance, described in Rule 104(b). FRE 104(b) Conditional Relevance This is the one type of objection to admission that the jury decides itself (not ruled on by the judge). If the party seeking to introduce an item of evidence agrees that it is not relevant by itself but states that it will be relevant when some other fact is established that provides a context for it, this is conditional relevance and the jury will hear it. It typically applies to issues arising out of Article IV and IX of the FRE. ARTICLE II: JUDICIAL NOTICE FRE 201(a), (b) Judicial Notice: Scope of rule This rule only applies to adjudicative facts. Adjudicative facts are facs that are specific to a particular litigation, such as whether a certain street is and Kinds of facts in the business or residential district. Legislative facts refers to more general facts about society and human nature that are not available for judicial notice. The rule is that a judicially noticed fact must be one not subject to reasonable dispute because it is either generally known or is capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. Because elements of crimes must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, no judicial notice of an element may be taken. FRE 201(g) Instructing the Jury In a civil action, court shall instruct the jury to accept JN fact as conclusive. In criminal case, court shall instruct jury that it may, but is not required to, accept as conclusive any JN fact. ARTICLE III: PRESUMPTIONS IN CIVIL ACTIONS FRE 301 Presumptions in Civil Typically, the person who wants to change the status quo (P in civil, govt in criminal) bears the burden of production/persuasion. In all civil actions, Actions and Proceedings a presumption imposes on the party against whom it is directed the burden of production, but does not shift the burden of persuasion. This Thayer view is also known as the bursting bubble theory and is different than the Morgan view that shifts the burden of persuasion as well. FRE 302 Applicability of State Law In civil actions and proceedings, the effect of a presumption respecting a fact which is an element of a claim or defense as to which State Law supplies the rule of decision is determined in accordance with State law. Burden of Production Burden of moving forward. Meaning who has to come forward with what type of evidence in order to proceed. The standard is whether there is sufficient evidence to prevent the other party from getting a directed verdict/JNOV (sufficient evidence to raise a question for the jury) Burden of Persuasion Aka the Risk of Non-persuasion, this burden determines who has to convince the fact finder that a certain fact is true, and by what standard. Beyond a reasonable doubt for criminal, clear and convincing for some civil, and preponderance of the evidence (> .5) for most civil. ARTICLE IV: RELEVANCY & ITS LIMITS FRE 401 Relevance defined Relevant evidence means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Therefore, evidence is relevant if it has any effect on the likelihood that a disputed fact is true. FRE 402 FRE 403 Relevant Evidence is Admissible Exclusion of Relevant Evidence Based on Prejudice All relevant evidence is admissible, except as otherwise provided by the Constitution, Acts of Congress, these rules, or SC authority. Evidence which is not relevant is not admissible. Although relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time or needless presentation of cumulative evidence. This balancing test allows trial courts to exclude relevant evidence where its admission would harm the judicial process. Ballou v. Henri (lower court wrongly excluded blood test because judge did not think it was reliable); Old Chief (D was willing to stipulate to prior crime, but motioned to restrain govt from mentioning) Evidence of a persons character or a trait of character is not admissible for the purpose of proving action in conformity therewith on a particular occasion. This is the rule against propensity evidence. Despite the general rule against the propensity inference, a criminal D may introduce evidence of good character related to the type of offense for which the D is being tried. If the D takes advantage of this opportunity, the prosecution is entitled to introduce opposing character evidence. If the D takes advantage of Rule 404(a)(2) producing character evidence concerning an alleged victim, then the prosecution can offer similar character evidence about the defendant. Michelson (D brought 5 W to show good reputation so Ps specific conduct evidence on cross was ok to rebut) Evidence of a pertinent trait of character of the alleged victim of the crime accused, or by the prosecution to rebut the same, is admissible. (e.g. to establish self-defense involving an attack by D on another person, D can introduce evidence that V had a violent character.

FRE 404(a) FRE 404(a)(1)

Character Evidence Not Admissible to Prove Conduct Character of Defendant

FRE 404(a)(2)

Character of Alleged Victim

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Evidence: Outline
FRE 404(a)(3) FRE 404(b) Character of Witness Allowed for Impeachment Character Evidence: other crimes, wrongs or acts Character evidence that would otherwise be prohibited due to the general bar against propensity evidence is admissible for impeachment purposes under Rules 607, 608 and 609. The general bar against propensity evidence excludes evidence when the only rationale for admission is to support inferences about a persons character and the persons having acted in conformity with that character. Rule 404(b) confirms that information about a persons past conduct that would naturally lead to inferences about the persons character may be introduced for different purposes, such as proving intent, motive, plan or preparation, special knowledge, or identity. US v. Cunningham (Demerol addiction could be used to show motive for stealing it. Court allowed evidence of addiction but not actual prior conviction); United States v. Carillo (identity signature exception prior sales involving balloon drug sales ok to show MO) Character evidence requires a two-step analysis. The first step, treated in Rule 404, is determining whether any information related to character is allowed to be introduced. The second step, treated in this rule, is determining how that character information may be proved. In every situation where character information is admissible, it may be shown with opinion or reputation testimony. Information about specific past acts relevant to establishing a persons character may be asked about on cross-examination. In cases where character is in issue, that is character is an essential element of the crime, proof may also be made by specific instances of the persons conduct. (Or on cross examination under 405(a)). Proof that a person has a habit is admissible, since it is different from proof that a person has a particular character trait. A habit of custom is a routine way of doing something that a person or organization accomplishes in a uniform way, free from individual thought or judgement about how to do it. Evidence that a D changed or repaired something after it was allegedly involved in an injury is not admissible to establish Ds negligence or a products defectiveness. We dont want to discourage reevaluation of risks in light of injury. If there is a rationale for proving the change to establish something other than negligence or product defect, proof of the change may be admitted. Evidence about a settlement or statements made in settlement negotiations may not be admitted with respect to the validity of the claim involved in the settlement or settlement negotiations. The evidence may, however, be admitted on any other rationale such as proving bias, prejudice of a witness, ownership, impeachment. Davidson v. Prince (statement must be part of negotiations to qualify) Information about medical payments and promises of medical payments is not admissible to show liability for the injury. Statements made while paying of promising can be admitted, in contrast to the Rule 408 treatment of statements made in settlement negotiations. Certain pleas and plea bargaining statements are inadmissible except to provide a full context for partial revelation of plea bargaining statements or where a case involves perjury. Evidence of insurance may not be admitted to show liability for negligence or other wrongful action, but other rationales such as proof of agency, ownership, control, bias or prejudice, can provide a basis for admission. This is contrary to typical character evidence rule. This rape shield provision applies to all types of sexual misconduct cases and says evidence about a persons past sexual conduct and sexual traits may not be admitted to show how he or she acted in a situation that is the basis for a sex offense charge. In criminal cases, the general prohibition does not apply to evidence that (b)(1)(A) supports a claim that someone other than D was the source of the semen, B) occurred with the D and supports a claim of consent, C) is so crucial that exclusion would be unconstitutional. In a civil case, the general prohibition does not apply if the probative value substantially outweighs the danger of harm to the victim and unfair prejudice to any party. State v. Cassidy (Conn. prior sex with D okay but sex with other partner where she also freaked out was not ok) Evidence of a Ds past sexual offense is admissible to support an inference that his or her commission of such an act in the past increases the likelihood that he or she committed the charged offense. Because evidence of past sexual offenses is so prejudicial, a notice provision requires that the D have warning prior to its introduction. This is parallel to Rule 413 except that it deals with child molestation cases rather than sexual assault cases. This allows character evidence to be introduced in a civil case as relevant to the issue of someones out-of=court conduct. It allows introduction of evidence of a partys past sexual offsens or child molestation to support an inference that his or her commission of such an act in the past increases the likelihood that he or she committed the conduct charged in the civil suit. ARTICLE V: PRIVILEGES No specific privilege provisions have been adopted as part of the federal rules, although detailed provisions have been proposed by the drafters. Privilege law, therefore, is open to traditional common law development. In civil cases, state privilege law governs where an issue is governed by state law.

FRE 405(a)

Proving Character: Reputation or Opinion Proving Character: Specific Instances Habit; Routine Practice Subsequent Remedial Measures Compromise and Offers to Compromise Payment of Medical Expenses Inadmissibility of Pleas Liability Insurance Sex Offense Cases: Relevance of Alleged Victims Past Sexual Behavior Evidence of Similar Crimes in Sexual Assault Cases Evidence of Similar Crimes in Child Molestation Evidence of Similar Acts in Civil Cases Concerning Sexual Assault or Child Molestation Privileges

FRE 405(b) FRE 406 FRE 407

FRE 408

FRE 409 FRE 410 FRE 411 FRE 412(a), (b)

FRE 413

FRE 414 FRE 415

FRE 501

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FRE 503 (prop) Attorney-Client Privilege Policy is to provide a higher quality of representation and encourage honest discourse with legal counsel. Without the privilege, clients might not disclose facts favorable to their case to their attorneys. The proposed rule states that a client is a person who is rendered legal services by a lawyer OR who consults with a lawyer with a view to obtaining legal services. A lawyer is anyone reasonably believed by client to be authorized to practice law in any state/nation. General rule is that client has privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications made for the purpose of facilitating the rendition of professional legal services to client. Applies between client and lawyer, lawyer and staff, etc. The client holds the privilege and the privilege survives death. The privilege does not apply if services sought would enable someone to commit or plan what client should have reasonably known was a crime or fraud. US v. Zolini. 1) work product privilege materials prepared for litigation by attorney are privileged unless there is a showing of substantial need AND party cannot without undue hardship obtain substantial equivalent elsewhere. Federal does not recognize. Some states do. Psychotherapist is any person authorized to practice medicine or reasonably believed by patient to be, while engaged in the diagnosis or treatment of mental conditions. A communication is confidential if it is not intended to be disclosed to third parties. Rule: A paitent has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications, made for the purposes of diagnosis or treatment of his mental or emotional condition. The privilege may be claimed by patient, guardian, or personal representative of decased. It does not apply where the mental condition is an element of the claim or defense. An accused in a criminal proceeding has a privilege to prevent his spouse from testifying against him. The privilege may be claimed by the accused or by the spouse on his behalf. Exceptions in situations where 1) they are suing each other, 2) matters prior to marriage. Nothing at common law, but some sates have enacted including CA. CEC 1070 refusal to disclose news source. Others include Clergy 1030-34, Secrecy to vote CEC 1050, trade secrets 1060, domestic violence CEC 1037. State secrets are governmental secrets relating to national defense/international relations of the US. The govt may refuse to provide evidence and prevent a person from giving evidence upon showing of reasonable likelihood of danger that evidence will disclose a state secret or official information. The Department head must formally claim the privilege. Privilege would not apply in criminal cases. The government would either have to present the evidence or drop the case. The govt or state may refuse to disclose the ID of a person who furnished info relating or assisting in investigation of illegal activity to a law enforcement officer or member of legislative committee. The privilege must e claimed by the appropriate govt representative and it does not apply where the ID is voluntarily disclosed. The rational is the necessity and public interest in effective law enforcement. A balancing test is used by judge to determine if the testimony is crucial. Public interest v. Ds right to prepare a defense. The material W rule says that W cannot have actually participated, just informed. ARTICLE VI: WITNESSES In contrast to the common law, virtually all people are competent as witnesses under the Federal Rules. The jury simply decides how credible the witness is when weighting their testimony. Where state law governs a claim, state competency law applies. In civil cases, state law determines competency where state law rule is the elemtn of the claim/defense. . If someone testifies as a lay witness, not an expert, evidence must be introduced that could support a jury finding that the witness has direct knowledge of the subject of his or her testimony. That evidence may be introduced as part of the witnesss own testimony. This rule is subject to FRE 703 on expert opinion. The requirement of an oath or affirmation to tell the truth. Impeachment is attempting to discredit a witness. There are five main methods of impeachment, including impeachment by 1) contradiction, 2) prior inconsistent statements, 3) character (bad acts, opinon/reputation, conviction), 4) capacity, and 5) bias/interest. The credibility of a witness may be attacked by any party, including the calling witness. This rejects the common law requirement that an offering party vouch for the honesty of its witness. US v. Hogan (Govt put Ds pilot on stand to impeach with other hearsay evidence; Rule: cannot use prior inconsistent statement by W under guise of impeachment where primary purpose is to get evidence in that otherwise is not allowed). Opinion and reputation evidence may always be introduced to detract from the credibility of any witness. This type of evidence may also be introduced to support the credibility of any witness whose credibility has been attacked in any way. However, you cannot bolster your own witnesses by proving their good character. Past conduct of any witness, relevant to the character trait of truthfulness, may be asked about in cross-examination of the witness or in crossexamination of another witness who has testified in support of the witnesss credibility. Extrinsic evidence may not be used unless it is a crime per FRE 609 or if it is relevant in some way other than to show Ws character for truthfulness. Extrinsic evidence may be okay on cross examination, at discretion of court, using the FRE 403 test. US v. Owens. (NOTE: revision of 608(b) appears to have gotten rid of collateral test so the only issue is FRE 403 (e.g. collateral matters substantially outweighed via dangers of confusion/time considerations).

FRE 504 (prop)

Physician-Patient Privilege Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege

FRE 505 (prop)

Husband-Wife Privilege News Gathering Privlege

FRE 509 (prop)

State Secrets

FRE 510 (prop)

Informants Identification

FRE 601 FRE 602 FRE 603 FRE 607

Witnesses: Competency Witnesses: Lack of Personal Knowledge Witness: Oath or Affirmation Who May Impeach

FRE 608(a) FRE 608(b)

Impeach Using Opinion & Reputation Impeach: Bad Acts (Specific Instances of Conduct) Impeachment by Contradiction

COLLATERAL TEST

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Evidence: Outline
Collateral Test could fact have been shown in evidence for purpose other than contradiction? State v. Oswalt (if yes, it is okay) A aprty may not introduce extrinsic proof that particular details of a witnesss testimony are false unless those details involve a topic that would be relevant in the trial whether or not a witness had earlier given testimony about it. If it has no independent significance, the topic is collateral and evidence that will only show a mistake or false statement regarding a collateral topic is prohibited from being introduced extrinsically. However, during cross-examination of the witness, they may be questioned but no matter what answer they give, additional extrinsic evidence would be prohibited. FRE 609(a)(1) Impeach: Prior Crimes Punishable by Death or Imrpisonment > 1 yr Impeach: Prior Crime Involves Dishonesty CAPACITY FRE 611(b) FRE 611(c) FRE 612 FRE 613(b) Scope of Cross-Examination Leading questions Present Recollection Refreshed Prior Inconsistent Statement Exceptions to Collateral Test for 1) bias, 2) capacity, 3) prior crimes, and 4) character for truthfulness. If a witness, other than D, has been convicted of a felony, evidence of the conviction shall be admitted subject to FRE 403 (not allowed if its probative value on the topic of the witnesss credibility is substantially outweighed by the risk of prejudicial effect on the D). If a witness is a criminal D, such evidence shall be admitted unless its probative value is outweighed in any degree by the risk of prejudice. (Unless conviction was >10 yrs ago. Rule 609(b)) If any witness has been convicted of a crime involving dishonesty or false statements, such as perjury, evidence of the conviction shall be admitted. FRE 403 does NOT apply. (Unless conviction was >10 yrs ago. Rule 609(b)) Conviction is not admisissible if there has been a pardon or certificate of rehabilitation or finding of innocence. Attacking Ws credibility base on sensory disability, lack of memory, mental disorders, or lack of knowledge is allowed and is not subject to the collateralness test. US v. Lindstorm. Cross-examination may cover only the topics raised in direct examination and matters affecting the credibility of the witness, unless the judge allows a broader scope. Leading questions are allowed on cross-examination and in examining an opposing party or a hostile witness. In direct examination of a partys own witness, they are only allowed to develop the testimony. Improper questions include Do you still beat your wife? When a witness uses a document or something else to refresh his or her recollection and then testifies from their present recollection refreshed, the opposing party is entitled to see the document, cross-examine the witness about it, and introduce parts of it that are relevant to the testimony. Ordinarily, if a party wants to introduce a witnesss past statement, rather than just ask the witness about it, the witness must be given an opportunity to comment specifically on that past statement, and the opposing party must also have an opportunity to question the witness about it. Extrinsic evidence of a prior inconsistent statement by a witness is not admissible unless witness gets opportunity to explain or deny or justice requires it. This does not apply to party admissions under 801(d)(2). ARTICLE VII: OPINIONS & EXPERT TESTIMONY A witness may speak in terms of opinions if that style of narration makes the testimony clearer. It must be 1) rationally based on the perception of W, 2) helpful to clear understanding of Ws testimony, and 3) not based in scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge. Where expertise from an identifiable field will assist the finder of fact, opinion testimony by an expert in the field is permitted. The trial court must determine whether the witnesss science or technology is reliable and whether the witness has applied that expertise reliably. W can be qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training or education An expert can base testimony on anything the expert has heard at te trial, anything that experts in the field reasonably rely on (including hearsay), whether or not that material is admissible (hearsay is an acceptable basis but give limiting instruction that the material should not be used for the truth of the matter asserted People v. Gardeley. The expert can only reveal otherwise inadmissible information that was the basis of their testimony if the judge concludes that its probative value outweighs any prejudicial effect. (Note: an experts testimony does not have to include the basis for the opinion it states, but that basis must be given on cross-examination if it is requested. Rule 705). a) Testimony of an expert may contain conclusions on issues that the trier of fact must decide. b) however, experts in criminal cases are prohibited from expressing an opinion on the specific issue of a Ds possession of a mental state that is an element of a crime. John Kinckley Memorial Act (cannot testify to ultimate issue of mens rea). Daubert Test (Daubert v. Merrell Dow) no general acceptance test. The Frye rule requiring expert opinion to be based on techniques generally accepted to be reliable in community does not survive FRE 702. The knowledge must be scientific, technical or otherwise specialized, and must assist the trier of fact to understand evidence/facts at issue. Judge is the gatekeeper under FRE 104(a) and considers factors like 1) has proposition been tested, 2) subjected to peer review, 3) known error rates, and 4) general acceptance in the community. ARTICLE VIII: HEARSAY Hearsay is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Therefore, a statement made by anyone out of court is hearsay if the proponent seeks to introduce it to support a conclusion that the information it asserts is true. A persons words in speech or writing and a persons conduct can all be statements under the hearsay rule, if the person intended them as an assertion or to convey information. US v. Zenni (calls made asking to place bets while officers were present evidence was ok because the best were implied assertions, not hearsay) Estate v. Murdock (non-hearsay use officer could testify to hearng husband say Im

FRE 609(a)(2)

FRE 701 FRE 702 FRE 703

Opinion Testimony by Lay Witnesses Testimony by Experts Basis of Opinion Testimony by Experts

FRE 704 EXPERTS

Opinion on Ultimate Issue TESTS

FRE 801(a), (b), (c)

Definition of Hearsay

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still alive because dead people dont talk); Subramanian v. Public Prosecutor (non-hearsay use - D can testify about what terrorist said to him because it wasnt for truth but to show the impact it had on D believing it); Vineyard v. Vineyard funeral Home (evidence that people had complained about slippery surface was okay to show Ds knowledge of problem, but not to show the surface was slippery when wet); Ries Biologicals v. Bank of Santa Fe (independent legal meaning) A witnesses out-of-court statement that is inconsistent with trial testimony of witness is not hearsay if the prior inconsistent statement was made under oath subject to penalty of perjury. The most common use of this is for impeachment purposes. A prior statement that is consistent with declarants trial testimony is not hearsay if offered to rebut an express or implied charge against the declarant of recent fabrication or improper influence or motive. A prior consistent statement does not have to be made under oath to be admissible. A prior statement of a declarant testifying at the trial or hearing and subject to cross-exaimination that identifies a person after having perceived that person. US v. Owen (W struck on head by D identified D pre-trial and then lost memory Confrontation Clause not violated by admission of statement of W despite difficulty in cross-examining regarding the basis of the ID) At common law, admissions are an exception to the general rule excluding hearsay. Under the FRE, admissions are treated as outside the definition of hearsay. An admission is any statement a party ever made out of court that is relevant for use against the party. The rule classifies a variety of types of admissions, ranging from a partys own statement to statements made by a partys agent, employee or coconspirator. Reed v. McCord (personal knowledge of declarant is not required) A statement which the party manifested an adoption or belief in its truth is NOT hearsay. Silence can constitute adoption if under the totality of circumstances a reasonable person would protest the statement if it were untrue. Whether D intended to adopt is a preliminary question for the judge under 104(a). US v. Hoosier (D did not deny girlfriends statement in front of a friend who already knew bank robbery plans held to have adopted the statement) A statement by a person authorized by the party to make a statement is NOT hearsay and a statement by the partys agent or servant concerning a matter within the scope of the agency or employment made during the existence of the relationship is NOT hearsay. Statement alone is not sufficient to establish declarants agency or employment relationship. Big Mack Trucking Co, Inc v. Dickerson A statement by a coconspirator of a party during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy is NOT hearsay. The statement is okay even if made before D joined the conspiracy. Judge determines existence of conspiracy and Ds involvement. Bourjaily v. United States (preponderance of evidence standard) Hearsay is not admissible except as provided by these rules, etc. Although the rule is written in absolute terms, there may be situations in which excluding the evidence on grounds of hearsay would violate a criminal Ds constitutional right to present evidence. The reason is that there is no way to test for inaccuracies of perception, memory, sincerity or ability to relate via cross-examination. Hearsay within hearsay is not excluded under the hearsay rule if each part of the combined statements conforms with an exception to the hearsay rule provided in these rules. Out-of-court statements that themselves contain additional statements may be admitted, so long as each statement can overcome a hearsay objection. A police officers notebook might contain a quote from someone who claimed to have seen a car accident. To be admissible, both hearsay (the words of the eyewitness and the written words of the police officer) have to be overcome. The eyewitnesss might be overcome by present sense impression and police officer might fit the public records exception. FRE 803: Hearsay Exceptions; Declarant Availability IMMATERIAL The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule, regardless of whether the declarant is available as a witness. A statement describing or explaining an event or condition made while the declarant was perceiving the event or condition, or immediately thereafter. Boot v. State (content of statement may be evidence of spontaneity) A statement relating to a startling event or condition made while the declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by the event or condition. The statement must relate to the startling experience. Courts are split about whether the statement itself can be evidence of the act. Truck Insurance Exchange v. Nichling (court held there must be some evidence of an act independent of declaration) Excited utterances do not need to be as contemporaneous as present sense impression. This is different than the state of mind non-hearsay use (not used to prove the truth of the statement but just the effect on the hearer so nonhearsay). A statement of the declarants then existing state of mind, emotion, sensation or physical condition (such as intent, plan, motive, design, mental feeling, pain, and bodily health, but not including a statement of memory or belief to prove the fact remembered or believed. (e.g. I am the King of Mars, or I plan to go to the restaurant tomorrow.) Mutual Life Insurance v. Hillmon (can be used to show declarants intent to carry out an act); Zippo v. Rogers Imports (surveys may be used to show state of mind of respondents) Statements about physical condition, medical history, and symptoms made for the purpose of medical diagnosis or treatment are exceptions to the general prohibition against hearsay. The declarant may make the statements to either treating or diagnosing medical personnel (ambulance attendants, nurses or even family members) and statements about the cause of a condition are within the coverage of the exception as long as they

FRE 801(d)(1)(A) FRE 801(d)(1)(B) FRE 801(d)(1)(C) FRE 801(d)(2)

Prior Inconsistent Statement Under Oath is Not Hearsay Consistent Statement Offered to Rebut Charge of Recent Fabrication Prior Identification of a Person Party Admissions

FRE 801(d)(2)(B)

Adoptive Admissions

FRE 801(d)(2)(C), (D) FRE 801(d)(2)(E) FRE 802 FRE 805

Agents & Employees Admission by Coconspirator Hearsay Rule Hearsay within Hearsay

FRE 803 FRE 803(1) FRE 803(2)

Hearsay Exceptions; Availability of Declarant Immaterial Present Sense Impression Excited Utterance

FRE 803(3)

State of Mind

FRE 803(4)

Medical Diagnosis or Treatment

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reasonably relate to the diagnosis or treatment. The trustworthiness is based on declarants desire for correct treatment. US v. Iron Shell (declarants motive must be consistent with purpose of obtaining medical treatment and content must be reasonably relied on by physicians in providing treatment/diagnosis. Williams v. Alexander (hospital records with details of accident not allowed because not within purpose of diagnosis/treatment). Different than past recollection refreshed FRE 612 which can be used to refresh a witnesss memory on the stand. Rather, this is a memorandum or record concerning a matter about which the witness had knowledge but now cant remember fully and accurately, shown to be adopted by the witness when the matter was fresh in the witness memory and to reflect that knowledge correctly. If admitted, the record can be read into evidence but cannot itself be received as an exhibit. Note that the witness must be shown to have either slight or no memory of the information recorded in the document but must have known it when the record was made. Witness must vouch for the document. If admitted, the evidence may be read but not offered as exhibit unless by the adverse party. The business records exception is widly used. The declarant who is the originating source of the information in the record must have a duty within the organization to provide the information and the info must be of a type that the organization usually records. If someone with no duty to report provides information that is the type of information usually kept by the organization, the document will serve as proof that the words were communicated, but the words will be admissible for their truth only if some other exception applies to them. The purpose is to alow a writing/record without calling everyone who made it as Ws if it was made in the regular course of business and without anticipation of litigation as part of a duty of a person making it OR on info given by person under a duty to provide it. The court has discretion to exclude if the source or other circumstances indicate untrustworthiness. Williams v. Alexander (hospital records with details of accident not allowed because not within purpose of diagnosis/treatment). Johnson v. Lutz (person who reports must have a duty to report police report not admissible because W officer questioned at scene did not have a duty to give the information) Allows evidence that information is lacking in a place where it would normally be recorded. It could be argued that this type of omission is not hearsay at all, but this exception makes the point moot. This exception applies the basic idea of business records to public entities, but treats criminal and civil cases slightly differently. Public records and reports (or data compilations) of public offices or agencies that set forth the activities o of the office or agency are an exception to hearsay. Public records and reports covering matters observed pursuant to a duty imposed by law as to which matters there was a duty to report, except matters observed by police officers and law enforcement personnel in criminal cases Public records, reports, statements or data compilations in civil actions and in criminal cases against the Govt, factual findings resulting from an investigation made pursuant to authority granted by law, unless the sources of information indicate lack of trustworthiness. Beech Aircraft v. Rainey (as long as document contains factual findings, it is admissible, regardless of whether it contains opinions as well.); United States v. Oates (In criminal cases, reports of public agencies that set forth factual findings from investigations cannot be let in under other hearsay exceptions or it would violate the confrontation clause) Absence of public records, reports, statements or data compilations regularly made and preserved by a public office or agency is an exception to hearsay. Statements in a document 20+ years old the authenticity of which is established (e.g. found in a place where it would likely have been kept is admissible to prove the truth of its assertions). This rule, creating an exception to hearsay for statements regarding the reputation of a persons character, is related to the provisions of FRE 405(a) and FRE 608(a) detailing how character may be proved when its admission is proper. This rule protects the uses of reputation allowed by those other rules from being barred by the hearsay doctrine. It basically just reiterates 405(a). Evidence of a final judgment against D, entered after trial of a crime punishable by death or imprisonment > 1yr is okay to prove any fact essential to sustain the judgement, but not applying in criminal cases when presented by Govt for reasons other than impeachment.

FRE 803(5)

Past Recollection Recorded

FRE 803(6)

Business Records

FRE 803(7) FRE 803(8) FRE 803(8)(A) FRE 803(8)(B) FRE 803(8)(C)

Absence of Business Record Public Records Public Records: Activities of Agency Public Records: Duty Imposed By Law Public Records: Factual Findings from Investigations

FRE 803(10) FRE 803(16) FRE 803(21) FRE 803(22

Absence of Public Record Ancient documents Reputation as to Character Judgment of Previous Conviction

FRE 804: Hearsay Exceptions; Declarant UNAVAILABLE FRE 804(a) Unavailable Definition A declarant is unavailable if 1) an order of the court excuses him or her from testifying (e.g. privilege), 2) declarant refuses to testify despite a court order, 3) declarant testifies to lack of memory of the subject matter (people state that they have no memory in many instances, sometimes truly and sometimes because they do not want to testify), 4) declarant is dead (or seriously ill), 5) the proponent of the statement is unable to procure the declarants attendance by process or reasonable means. A declarant is NOT unavailable if a party intentially prevents the declarant from being present through wrongdoing. The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule if the declarant is unavailable as a witness: If unavailable, testimony or deposition statements are admissible if at the time they were made the party against whom they are currently sought to be introduced had an opportunity to develop the testimony by questioning. In addition to the opportunity, that partys motivation at the time of the

FRE 804(b) FRE 804(b)(1)

Hearsay Exceptions Former Testimony

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Evidence: Outline
testimony must have been similar to its motivation in the current trial. In civil cases, a predecessor in interest is treated as equivalent to the current party. In murder cases (not all criminal cases) and in all civil cases, a statement made by a person who believed he or she was about to die that relates to the cause of the expected death is admissible. This is the classic dying declarations exception. Soles v. State (judges determine whether the condition exists before admitting 104(a)) Because people do not usually say things that could harm them, it is likely that when a person does say such a thing, it is true. Statements that could hurt a person in the contexts of money, property, or criminal liability are covered by this statement against interest exception, provided that a reasonable person would have understood the risks involved in making the statement. The declarant must be unavailable, he must have had personal knowledge, the statement must have been against interest when it was made. If the statement is made to exculpate an accused, it can qualify only if it is corroborated. If a party wrongly prevents a person from testifying, for example by being involved in bribing, intimidating or killing that person, any statement that person ever made can be introduced against the party. Hearsay declarants and the people whose statements are admissible as admissions may be impeached with any technique that would have been available if they had made their statements in testimony. The provisions for allowing a declarant to deny or explain inconsistent statements do not apply since the declarant may not be available at trial. A statement not covered by 803 or 804 but having equivalent circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness is not excluded by the hearsay rule if the court determines that A) the statement is offered as evidence of a material fact, B) the statement is more probative on the point for which it is offered than any other evidence which the proponent can procure through reasonable efforts, C) the general purposes of these rules and the interests of justice will best be served by admission of the statement into evidence. However, the proponent must make known to adverse party in advance of trial so they have a fair opportunity to prepare to meet it. This exception requires equivalent trustworthiness, strong necessity, relevant topic, that justice will be served, and notice of intention to use to rule to the other party. A controversial example of this is the use of grand jury testimony given under oath. US v. Dent (concurring opinion stating that you shouldnt be able to go around other rules with 807); Easterbrook and Prof believe 807 should only apply to circumstances not addressed by rules no near misses. Ohio v. Roberts. ARTICLE IX: AUTHENTICATION AND IDENTIFICATION When a party seeks to introduce a document or any object or thing, the party must also provide a basis for a finding that the document or object really is what the proponent claims it is. This requirement also applies to testimony about conversations. It is important to remember that authentication is only one requirement that must be satisfied for admission of an item of evidence. For example, an authenticated document may still need to satisfy the rules converning hearsay and original writings (best evidence rule). FRE 104(b) applies to authentication (evidence must be sufficient to support jury finding of genuineness). Therefore, in some ways the authentication requirement is unnecessary because it is just an application of conditional relevancy. It is pretty easy to satisfy the authentication requirement. Here are some typical methods, but any proof that could support the required finding is allowed: 1) testimony of witness with knowledge, 2) nonexpert opinion on handwriting, 3) comparison by trier or expert witness, 4) distinctive characteristics and the like, 5) voice identification, 6) telephone conversations, 7) public records Here, items discussed in the rule are considered so likely to be what they seem to be that further proof is not required. This includes 1) domestic public documents under seal, 2) certain domestic public documents not under seal, 3) certain foreign public documents, 4) certified copies of public records, 5) official publications, 6) newspapers and periodicals, 7) trade inscriptions, signs or tags, 8) commercial paper, etc. The testimony of a subscribing witness is not necessary to authenticate a writing unless required by the laws of the jurisdiction whose laws govern the validity of the writing.

FRE 804(b)(2) FRE 804(b)(3)

Dying Declaration Statement Against Interest

FRE 804(b)(6) FRE 806 FRE 807

Forfeiture by Wrongdoing Attacking and Supporting Credibility of Declarant RESIDUAL EXCEPTION

FRE 901(a)

Authentication: General Requirements

FRE 901(b) FRE 902 FRE 903

Examples of Authentication Self-Authentication Subscribing Witness Testimony Unnecessary

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