Show Me the Receipts
A witness testifies, "I watched the defendant hand the landlord $800 cash for rent." The defendant usually gets a written receipt, but no one offers the receipt into evidence.
No best evidence issue
In a contract trial, the presiding judge personally witnessed the loan signing. Plaintiff calls the judge to testify.
NOT permitted (Rule 605)
A bloody knife is offered as evidence. The detective testifies that he recovered it, sealed it, logged it, and delivered it to evidence storage. The storage officer testifies that he retrieved that same sealed package and delivered it to the lab. Lab tech testifies everything was intact.
Chain of custody
During its case-in-chief, the prosecution wants to introduce testimony that the defendant is "a violent and aggressive person" to prove that he started the fight.
NOT admissible - improper propensity evidence.
During a chaotic bar fight, a drunk bystander shouts to police, "That dude in the leather jacket started it!" The bystander later disappears and cannot be located. The prosecution offers the statement at trial.
Admissible - non testimonial
At trial, a witness says: "Yesterday I replayed the voicemail the defendant left me. In it, he clearly said, 'I'm going to kill her tonight.'"
Not admissible - produce the voicemail
After the verdict, a juror offers to testify that the jury convicted the defendant because they "didn't like how he acted at trial."
NOT permitted - can't testify about internal deliberation
The government offers a certified copy of a prior conviction from the county clerk's office, complete with an official seal and signature.
Self-authentication
The defendant offers a witness to testify that he is "peaceful and nonviolent." The prosecution then calls a witness to testify that the defendant is "known in the community for being hot-tempered."
Admissible - defendant opened the door
Police arrive to find a bleeding victim who says, "Eloise shot me and she's still outside somewhere." The victim then dies.
Admissible; non-testimonial - still an active threat
The original lease burned in a fire, so the landlord wants to introduce a copy at trial.
Admissible - destroyed without bad faith
After the verdict, a juror wants to testify that another juror accepted a cash bribe to vote guilty.
A co-worker testifies that she routinely saw the defendant sign invoices at work and recognizes the handwriting on a note found at the crime scene as his. No expert is called.
Authentication by handwriting familiarity
In an assault trial, the defendant calls a witness to testify that he is "honest and hardworking." Admissible?
NOT admissible - honesty is not a pertinent trait for assault
A terrified child tells her preschool teacher, "My dad beat me up." Teachers are mandated reporters & the child does not testify.
Admissible; non-testimonial. Primary purpose = protection!
An IRS agent creates a summary chart of 2,000 bank statements and offers it instead of the statements themselves.
Admissible - summaries allowed under 1006
A witness refuses to swear "so help me God," but promises clearly to tell the truth. The prosecution objects that no proper oath was given.
Overruled; witness satisfied the oath requirement
The state wants to admit a torn page from a notebook containing a confession. No one recognizes the handwriting, and there's no evidence of who owned the notebook. However, the state is convinced that the defendant wrote the note.
NOT properly authenticated
In a civil battery suit, the plaintiff wants to introduce testimony that "the defendant has a reputation for being violent." Admissible?
NOT admissible - civil case
A forensic analyst writes a formal lab report identifying the defendant's DNA on a weapon. The analyst does not appear at trial & the prosecution wants to admit the report.
Inadmissible; testimonial
Lab reports prepared for prosecution; defendant must have opportunity to confront the analyst
In a fraud case, the government seeks to introduce a scanned PDF of a handwritten ledger allegedly kept by the defendant. The defendant objects, noting that the original ledger was burned in a "routine file clean out" conducted 3 hours after federal agents executed a search warrant at the defendant's office.
NOT admissible - original destroyed in bad faith
Overruled - children are presumed competent.
To authenticate an email allegedly written by the defendant, the prosecution points out that it was sent from the defendant's longtime email address (DWTSfan1@gmail.com), uses his trademark sign-off ("Keep Dancing & Don't Forget to Vote"), and mentions "my paso-doble injury," which the defendant joked about the day before.
Authentication by distinctive characteristics
Defendant calls a character witness who testifies, "In my opinion, the defendant is peaceful." On cross, the prosecutor asks, "Did you know that the defendant punched a bouncer last month?" Allowed?
Admissible - specific acts may be asked on cross
Victim gives a formal statement at the police station under oath describing the robbery. At trial, the victim is present but invokes the 5th and refuses to answer any question. Prosecution wants to admit the statement.
Inadmissible; testimonial AND witness is not cross-examinable