Authentication/Grounds & Basis for Evidentiary Rulings/Mens Rea
Explain Ginger v. Heisman
Electronic communications are presumed to be sent by the person associated with the account or phone number unless there is a specific reason to believe otherwise.
Explain Richards v. Mississippi BBQ
Expert witnesses are prohibited from merely summarizing or repeating inadmissible hearsay unless they relate that information to their specialized knowledge to form a scientific conclusion.
Explain America's Best Cookie v. International House of Waffles
In Midlands, the definition of "hearsay" includes out-of-court statements by a witness who is on the stand, was on the stand, or will be on the stand in the trial.
In Orders on Motions in Limine, which motion allows for reading of Charlie Martin and Riley Kaye's interrogation onto the record without additional foundation?
Motion C
Which case law states that the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt burden does not apply to proving admissibility of evidence and that it only needs to be proved by a preponderance of the evidence.
State v. Wiseman (1975)
Which case law allows law enforcement officers to testify to things based on their specialized training, skills, and experience beyond the average citizen even though they are not experts subject to MRE 702?
Jeffries v. Polk County Police Department (2007)
Which case law states that a witness may testify to their own recollection of what they saw occur on a video recording and doing so is not hearsay?
State v. Smarda (2005)
Which case law states that an individual's willingness to push themselves mentally and/or physically to finish a task does not constitute a character trait, so it cannot be excluded through character evidence?
Ellis v. Norton (1999)
Explain Zomerfeld v. Noto
To determine admissibility of evidence, the court may rely on both admissible and inadmissible evidence to determine admissibility.
Explain Kane Software Co. v. Mars Investigations
Prohibits "trial by ambush" by strictly limiting an expert's direct and redirect testimony to the specific opinions and bases disclosed in their pre-trial report.
Explain Chambers v. By the Book Publishing, Ltd.
A statement is only hearsay when the out-of-court statement is being used for the truth of the matter asserted. If it only matters whether the statement was more (not whether it was true) then it is not hearsay.
Under stipulation 10, some exhibits have all objections waived. List all the exhibits. (Bonus points if you know which 3 exhibits have all hearsay objections waived in the Orders on Motions in Limine)
Exhibits 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 21
Exhibits 2, 15, and 16
Which caselaw states that the negligence or recklessness of other parties does not excuse the defendant's conduct and that a jury must ultimately focus on whether the defendant's own extreme recklessness met the bar for murder, not the actions of others.
State v. Teglia (2025)
Which case law states that judges must ensure scientific testimony is reliable by focusing on methods and data, not conclusions.
Davis v. Adams (1993)
Which case law states that police officers, prosecutors, informants, and other law enforcement officials are not opposing party for purposes of 801(d)(2)
Homel v. Arnzen (2015)
Under Motion E, certain MRE objections to Micah Lin cannot be made. Which rule number(s) and prong(s) can you not object to?
702(b) and 702(c)
Explain State v. Bernardi
A defendant is not acquitted of their reckless acts just because a superior ordered them or someone else was also at fault.
Explain Tarot Readers Association of Midlands v. Merrell Dow
Reliability under Rule 702(C) is evaluated based on the totality of the circumstances—considering factors like testing and peer review—rather than a rigid checklist.
Explain State v. B.F. De la Porta
An out-of-court statement is not hearsay if it is offered for a purpose other than proving the truth of the facts asserted. If the party offering the statement actually disputes the assertions within it, the statement is definitionally not hearsay.
Which case law states that MRE 801(d)(2) may only be invoked in one direction in a criminal case. Ex: the state may offer statements made by the defendant but the defense may offer statements made by the defense under rule 801(d)(2)?
State v. Tate (1987)