Relevancy, Character, & Limits
I give you the question, you tell me the correct objection.
Question: "what was the color of the carpet in the kitchen where no event related to this case took place today?"
402: Relevance
Question to lay witness: "why do you think the plaintiff did not lock the doors that night?" (asking them to assert what the plaintiff was thinking)
602: speculation, witnesses cannot testify to mental states without foundation.
The witness says, ‘My friend told me the defendant did it."
Rule 801 - 802: out of court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted
The attorney asks a question that suggests the answer on a direct examination.
Rule 611c
The attorney wants to remove objectionable testimony already given.
Motion to strike.
The attorney offers evidence that a person follows the same repeated practice every time a specific situation occurs, even though there is no eyewitness to this event.
The attorney objects to improper character evidence, what is the correct response?
Rule 406. Habit; Routine Practice
Evidence of a person’s habit or an organization’s routine practice may be admitted to prove that on a particular occasion the person or organization acted in accordance with the habit or routine practice. The court may admit this evidence regardless of whether it is corroborated or whether there was an eyewitness.
The witness testifies about something they did not personally see or hear.
602, lack of foundation/speculation, requires firsthand knowledge.
The attorney offers a document made outside court to prove the facts inside it.
Rule 801-802, hearsay, out of court statement being offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted
The witness gives an answer that doesn’t address the question asked.
611(a): Nonresponsive, witness failed to answer the question asked
What is the name of the governing rules of evidence in the Oklahoma Mock Trial Program that an attorney must cite or refer to when lodging an objection?
National High School Mock Trial Rules of Evidence
The attorney asks a witness to testify that a person is dishonest, to prove they acted dishonestly this time.
What is the correct objection?
Character evidence cannot be used to show action in conformity on a particular occasion (Rule 404(a))
A witness gives an opinion not based on their own perceptions.
701, improper lay opinion -- 701 limits lay opinions to those rationally based on perception.
You offer a company record made at the time of the event, kept in the regular course of business, by someone with knowledge.
The opposing attorney objects to 801 Hearsay, what is your response?
803 (6): Although the evidence is hearsay, it falls under the business records exception if it was made at or near the time, by a person with knowledge, kept in the regular course of business, and shown by a custodian or qualified witness.
On re-cross-examination, the attorney begins asking a witness about matters that were never raised on re-direct.
Rule 611(b) limits re-cross-examination to the subject matter of re-direct examination and matters affecting credibility. Questions that introduce new, unrelated substantive topics are improper unless the court allows them.
DAILY DOUBLE:
The attorney asks the court to accept as true - a fact that is not subject to reasonable dispute because it is generally known or can be accurately verified from a reliable source.
Under Rule 201, a court may take judicial notice of an adjudicative fact that is not subject to reasonable dispute.
When judicial notice is taken in a civil case, the jury must(!) accept the fact as true. In a criminal case, the jury may(!) accept it as true.
The evidence is relevant, but it risks misleading the jury and unfairly influencing their emotions.
What is the rule number and objection to this?
Even relevant evidence may be excluded when its probative value is substantially outweighed by prejudice, confusion, or waste of time (Rule 403)
A lay witness offers technical conclusions requiring specialized knowledge.
Rule 702: Improper expert testimony, requires qualification under FRE 702
DAILY DOUBLE:
The attorney offers a statement made by a witness, admitting something that exposed them to criminal or financial liability.
An objection to hearsay is lodged, what would be the correct exception AND why?
Rule 804-B-4: a reasonable person in the declarant’s position would have made only if the person believed it to be true because, when made, it was so contrary to the declarant’s proprietary or pecuniary interest or had so great a tendency to invalidate the declarant’s claim against someone else or to expose the declarant to civil or criminal liability; and
The attorney asks a witness to testify about a document without first establishing how the witness would know that information.
602 — Lack of personal knowledge and/or failure to establish foundation.
An attorney wants to introduce a witness’s prior inconsistent statement without giving the witness a chance to explain or deny the statement. What is the proper objection?
Under Rule 613(b), extrinsic evidence of a witness’s prior inconsistent statement is admissible only if the witness is first given an opportunity to explain or deny the statement
The attorney offers evidence of a person’s past wrongdoing to suggest they are the type of person who would commit this act.
What is the correct objection and when is wrongdoing admissible?
Rule 404B:
Other acts may not be used for propensity; they are admissible only for limited purposes such as motive, intent, plan, or identity.
The attorney’s questioning is asked and answered, badgering the witness, invites a long narrative, and they cut the witness off in the middle of their last answer. What objection controls all of these problems?
Rule 611(a) gives the court broad authority to control the mode and order of questioning to ensure truth-finding, avoid wasted time, and protect witnesses. Many common objections are enforced through this rule.
The attorney offers this out-of-court statement through the plaintiff, "the defendant told me I looked like a prostitute," but not to prove it was true, but to explain why the listener (the plaintiff) acted the way they did (...by slapping the heck out of the defendant).
Opposing attorney objects to hearsay, what is the correct response?
If the statement is offered only to show its effect on the listener, and not for the truth of what was said, it is not hearsay at all under Rule 801.
BEFORE the witness’s credibility has been attacked, the attorney asks questions designed to show that the witness is truthful, honest, reliable, or qualified.
Rule 608(a)/Rule 403: Improper bolstering. Evidence supporting a witness’s character for truthfulness is not admissible unless the witness’s credibility has first been attacked. An attorney may not preemptively shore up a witness’s credibility.
DAILY DOUBLE:
What are the "Three C's of Impeaching a Witness," AND what does each C mean, AND provide an example of each?
Commit: commit the witness to the answer, lock the witness into their current testimony.
"Is it your testimony today that ___"
Credit: establish the prior statement as credible and reliable to the witness.
"Did you make an affidavit (witness statement) under oath prior to today's trial?"
Confront: show the inconsistency and force the witness to deal with it.
"In your sworn statement, you said ____, isn't that correct?"