Procedure
What should the attorney objecting do if they object to a question by the opposing counsel?
Stand and say: "I object your honor."
The following occurs on direct examination:
Lawyer - "You went to your mom's house later that night, didn't you?"
What is the proper objection?
Objection: Leading Question.
Laasya is on trial for hitting poor innocent Clara over the head with a golf club. Clara is pressing charges.
The following occurs on Clara's direct:
Lawyer: What happened next?
Witness: Well after that I her Laasya say "I want to hit you with this golf club"
Opposing Lawyer: Objection your Honor, Hearsay
What is the proper response?
Exception: Party Opponent
The following occurs on direct examination:
Witness: Well the very first thing I did on Wednesday was brush my teeth and get dressed. I said hi and then bye to my parents and my cat and got in the car to drive to school. The drive was pretty good I got there fairly quickly. I then went off to class and first block I had physics which is a force (haha physics joke) and then I had to go to calculus where I did some math and then I went to statistics where I did more math but halfway through statistics I had lunch and it was very tasty.
What is the proper objection?
Objection: Narrative Answer
What type of witness may testify to their opinion?
Expert witnesses
What does the judge say when he agrees with your objection? What about when he disagrees?
Agrees - Sustained
Disagrees - Overruled
The following occurs
Lawyer: Did you determine the time of death by interviewing witnesses and by requesting the autopsy report written by the coroner?
What is the proper objection?
Objection: Compound Question
Laasya is on trial for hitting poor innocent Clara over the head with a golf club. Clara is pressing charges.
The following occurs on Clara's direct:
Lawyer: What happened next?
Witness: Well after that I her Laasya say "I want to hit you with this golf club"
Opposing Lawyer: Objection your Honor, Hearsay
Why does the "not for the truth of the matter" exception not apply.
This is clearly for the truth of the matter as it is establishing intent on Laasya's part to hit Clara over the head with a golf club.
the following occurs on direct:
Witness: I went to the store, bought some stuff, and when I came out thats when i saw the murder
Opposing attorney: Objection your Honor, this is invention of fact. The witness' affidavit does not say anything about whether or not they bought anything.
Assume this is indeed not in the witness' affidavit. Why does invention of fact not apply in this case?
What document is most often associated with entering expert witnesses?
A curriculum vitae
Select one of the following choices:
a) although very rare you CAN object during both opening and closing arguments
b) you cannot object during opening arguments but you can object during closing arguments (this is meant to prevent them from saying false things during their closing, but false facts during the opening can be clarified in trial)
c) you cannot object during closing arguments but you can object during opening arguments (this is meant to prevent them from giving the judge false biases with misinformation right at the start of the trial, but the judge should be able to spot any false information in the closing for themselves)
d) you cannot object during closing or opening arguments but you can object directly after
e) you cannot object during closing or opening arguments
d) you cannot object during closing or opening arguments but you can object directly after
The most common reason this would occur would be a violation of rule 905 which states that closing arguments must be based on the evidence and testimony presented during the trial. (ex: "today you heard Laasya say that golf is a sport" when laasya has made no such statements) However, it is better to simply address this in YOUR closing if you are going second.
The following occurs on a case about whether or not Trisha ran over a child:
Lawyer: "Miss Shenoy, what did your great-great-great great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents do for a living?
What is the proper objection?
Objection: Relevance
The following occurs on cross:
Attorney: As Trisha lay there, dying, she told you to make sure you turned in her homework didn't she?
Opposing Attorney: Your Honor, objection Hearsay
What is the proper hearsay exception?
Exception: excited utterance
The following occurs:
Lawyer: So what was your relationship with Clara like?
Witness: Oh it was absolutely awful, I mean Clara stole answers off of everybody in high school! She basically copied down my entire test. And I heard from a bunch of kids that she plagiarized their essays and never got caught. It's not a shock to me that she's on trial for copyright violation!
Objection: Character Evidence
What two types of opinion can expert witnesses not give?
(1) Opinion on Ultimate Issue
(2) Opinion on things that are not within their field of expertise
After winning an objection, what should you say?
Yes, Your Honor, motion to strike?
The following occurs:
Lawyer: You saw Clara exit the store, didn't you?
Witness: I did.
Lawyer: So when you were watching Clara, she exited the store, isn't that right?
What is the proper objection?
Objection: Asked and Answered.
Name and Explain 3 hearsay exceptions
(1) Present sense impression. A statement describing or explaining an event or condition made while the declarant was perceiving the event or condition, or immediately thereafter. Example: “She said, ‘He sure is driving awfully fast.’”
(2) Spontaneous exclamation (also commonly referred to as “excited utterance”). A statement made under the impulse of excitement or shock if its utterance was spontaneous to a degree that reasonably negated premeditation or possible fabrication and if it tended to qualify, characterize, or explain the underlying event. Example: “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!”
(3) Then-existing mental, emotional or physical “conditions.” A statement of the declarant’s 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. Example: “He said he had a terrible stomach ache.”
(4) Statements for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment. Statements made for the purpose of medical diagnosis or treatment.
(5) Recorded recollection. A memorandum or record concerning a matter about which a witness once had knowledge but now has insufficient recollection to enable him to testify fully and accurately, shown to have been made or adopted by the witness when the matter was fresh in his memory and to reflect that knowledge correctly.
(6) Records of regularly conducted activity (the “business records” rule). A memorandum, report, record or data compilation, in any form, of acts, events, conditions, opinions or diagnoses, made by a person with knowledge
(7) Learned treatises. To the extent called to the attention of an expert witness upon cross-examination or relied upon by the expert witness in direct examination, statements contained in published treatises, periodicals or pamphlets on a subject of history, medicine or other science or art, established as a reliable authority by the testimony or admission of the witness or by other expert testimony or by judicial notice.
(8) Reputation as to character. Reputation of a person’s character among associates or in the community.
(9) Co-conspirator statements. Statements by a co-conspirator in a criminal conspiracy.
The following occurs:
Lawyer: "Were you the last person the victim saw on the night of his death?"
Witness: "I didn't kill him!"
What is the proper objection?
Objection: Non-Responsive
What must be asked in order to enter an expert?
Foundation questions about their qualifications
If there is a disagreement surrounding an invented fact, or something needs to be brought to the judges attention during trial, the following is called.
A bench conference.
The following occurs on cross:
Crossing Lawyer: You went to the beach, didn't you?
Witness: I did.
CL: And you saw many coconuts, correct?
W: I did.
CL: One might even say you caught many sunburns, isn't that right?
W: Yes.
And the following redirect occurs:
Directing Lawyer: Did you have a good relationship with your Grandmother?
Objection: Beyond scope of redirect.
What requirements must you meet for the Hearsay Exception Definition of Unavailability?
(a) Definition of Unavailability “Unavailability as a witness” includes situations in which the declarant:
(1) Is exempted by ruling of the court on the ground of privilege from testifying concerning the subject matter of the declarant’s statement; or
(2) Testifies to a lack of memory of the subject matter of the declarant’s statement; or
(3) Is unable to be present or to testify at the trial because of death or then-existing physical or mental illness or infirmity.
A declarant is not unavailable as a witness if any of the above is due to the wrongdoing of the proponent of a statement for the purposes of preventing the witness from attending or testifying.
(b) Hearsay exceptions
The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule if the declarant is unavailable as a witness:
(1) Former testimony. Testimony given as a witness at another hearing of the same or a different proceeding, or in a deposition taken in compliance with law in the course of the same or another proceeding, if the party against whom the testimony is now offered or, in a civil action or proceeding, a predecessor in interest, had an opportunity and similar motive to develop the testimony by direct, cross, or redirect examination.
(2) Statement under belief of impending death. In a prosecution for homicide or in a civil action or proceeding, a statement made by a declarant while believing that the declarant’s death was imminent, concerning the cause or circumstances of what the declarant believed to be impending death.
(3) Statement against interest. A statement which was at the time of its making so far contrary to the declarant’s pecuniary or proprietary interest, or so far tended to subject the declarant to civil or criminal liability, or to render invalid a claim by the declarant against another, that a reasonable person in the declarant’s position would not have made the statement unless believing it to be true. A statement tending to expose the declarant to criminal liability and offered to exculpate the accused is not admissible unless corroborating circumstances clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the statement.
(4) Statement of personal or family history.
(a) A statement concerning the declarant’s own birth, adoption, marriage, divorce, legitimacy, relationship by blood, adoption or marriage, ancestry or other similar fact of personal or family history, even though declarant had no means of acquiring personal knowledge of the matter stated; (b) a statement concerning the foregoing matters, and death also, of another person, if the declarant was related to the other by blood, adoption or marriage or was so intimately associated with the other’s family as to be likely to have accurate information concerning the matter declared.
(5) Declaration of deceased person. In any action or other civil judicial proceeding, a declaration of a deceased person shall not be inadmissible in evidence as hearsay or as private conversation between husband and wife, as the case may be, if the court finds that it was made in good faith and upon the personal knowledge of the declarant.
The following occurs:
Lawyer: What did you see next, Ms. Shenoy?
Witness: Well I saw Laasya, sitting on the floor, hyperventilating and crying and shaking, she looked really distraught.
Opposing Lawyer: Objection Speculation
With your group, perform the objection battle that would occur. You should choose one person to be the lawyer, one to be the opposing lawyer, and imaginary bonus points for a third member doing their best Trisha impression! (YOU CAN HAVE A FOURTH PERSON ACTING AS THE JUDGE)
Objecting Lawyer: Speculation Your Honor, the witness is not in Laasya's brain and therefore cannot know whether or not she was distraught.
Lawyer: Your Honor this is not speculation because the witness has laid foundation as to how Laasya appeared when she saw her AND only stated that she LOOKED distraught.
Judge: Overruled
True or false:
Expert witnesses are boring and you must play them that way :)))
FALSE