Week 2 - 6 Quizzes for Mid-Term CJK 315

The Federal Rules of Evidence contain ___________ exclusion(s)/(exemption(s)) and ________________ exception(s) to the hearsay rule.

2, 28

Peter Pan is on trial for kidnapping. In order to establish an alibi for the day of the crime, he has Jif Crunchy testify, "Peter told me he was going to run away tomorrow and live with the fairies." The alleged kidnapping took place two days after Peter made this statement. Upon objection, the judge will most likely rule that the statement is

Admissible as a declaration of then existing state of mind

An affirmative defense is one in which the defendant

Admits to performing the acts charged but claims that he had a lawful excuse for his conduct.

If the declarant makes a statement that could knowingly subject them to criminal charges, the statement would probably be admissible under the exception for statements

Against penal interest.

Under the Federal Rules of Evidence and in a number of jurisdictions, which of the following are specifically defined as being excluded from the hearsay rule, even though it may appear to be hearsay? a. Admission by a party opponent. Prior consistent statements and inconsistence statements under oath. c. Prior statements of identification after perceiving the person. d. all of the above.

All of the above.

If the purpose of a nonverbal act is to communicate, and the communication is ___________, it is then hearsay.

Assertive

To fall within the hearsay rule, the declarant's statement must be a/n ____________ statement.

Assertive

A person can assert the privilege against self-incrimination

At any judicial proceeding.

The oldest confidential communication privilege known to the common law was the ____________ privilege.

Attorney-client

The prosecution has the obligation to prove the criminal defendant's guilt

Beyond a reasonable doubt.

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution are known as the

Bill of Rights

To be deemed a competent witness, the witness must a. Speak the English language. b. Understand the obligation to be truthful, and have the capacity to observe, remember, and narrate. c. Be a citizen of the United States. d. Have personal knowledge of the matters. e. Both b and d.

Both b and d

In a criminal trial, which of the "Burdens of Proof" rest with the prosecution:

Both the Burden of Production and the Burden of Persuasion

A subpoena duces tecum is a subpoena that orders the person to

Bring certain items or records with them to court.

One relatively recent set of exceptions to the hearsay rule have been created for

Child victims of abuse.

Statements made by a ________during and in furtherance of the conspiracy are excluded from the rules of hearsay.

Co-conspirator

The use of hearsay potentially involves a violation of the defendant's right to

Confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses.

Statements that would otherwise be testimonial require that the defendant have the right to __________ under the rule of Crawford v. Washington

Confrontation

The Constitution's ____________ Clause and the rule against hearsay protect similar values.

Confrontation

The rule against hearsay and the _____________ Clause of the Sixth Amendment deal with similar testimonial issues.

Confrontation

Prior to Crawford v. Washington, if a form of statement was traditionally recognized as an exception to the hearsay rule it was also recognized as an exception to the

Confrontation Clause.

With regard to testimonial hearsay, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Ohio v. Roberts in

Crawford v. Washington.

The principal means that courts use to guard against the risks of Hearsay are the requirements that the witness testify under oath, which helps ensure reliability, and that the witness be available for ___________.

Cross examination

In terms of Hearsay, the ________is the person who makes the statement.

Declarant

Crawford v. Washington is a decision which protects

Defendants.

The rules of evidence

Determine what information will be available to the judge or jury at trial.

Proof is the result of

Evidence.

An ______________ is 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.

Excited utterance

Which of the following is a firmly rooted hearsay exception in the law of evidence?

Excited utterance

In general, only ____________ witnesses may testify as to their opinions or conclusions.

Expert

A statement that is offered only to show the effect on the hearer is hearsay when offered to show the state of mind of another.

False

Evidence that possesses a sufficient degree of likelihood that it is true and accurate is relevant evidence.

False

If the defense loses or misplaces evidence important to the prosecution, it is a violation of due process, if the conduct constituted bad faith.

False

Statements offered to show knowledge, feelings, state of mind, or effect on the hearer are inadmissible non-hearsay

False

Suppose that during a police raid of an illegal gambling operation, the telephone rings and a detective answer it. The caller says, "Put $50 on Vick in the fourth at Belmont." Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, if this statement is offered at trial by the prosecution to prove that the location was used for illegal gambling, it will most likely be ruled as inadmissible hearsay.

False

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that trial judges must give juries an instruction that defines proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

False

The law of hearsay evidence and its related concepts of non-hearsay, its exclusions, and exceptions are relatively simple.

False

Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, admissions by a party opponent are always defined as hearsay.

False

The Brady rule requires that the defense disclose clearly exculpatory evidence to the prosecution.

False (when asked for)

In terms of procedure,

Felony and misdemeanor cases have essentially the same procedures.

The privilege against self-incrimination (which includes the right of a defendant not to testify) is found in the ___________ Amendment.

Fifth

Through operation of the ____________ Amendment, many provisions of the Bill of Rights are now also applicable in state court criminal cases.

Fourteenth

The English common law writ (also adopted in the U.S.) which allowed a person to challenge the legality of their custody or imprisonment was the writ of

Habeas corpus.

Prosecutors generally have a privilege not to reveal the

Identity of confidential informants.

By using_______________, the cross-examiner intends to afford the jury a basis to infer that the witness' character is such that he would be less likely than the average trustworthy citizen to be truthful in his testimony.

Impeachment

Exceptions to the hearsay rule mandate that the hearsay offered have some

Indicia of reliability.

In states that do not use grand juries, the formal charging document is the

Indictment

Under Federal rules, a friend's testimony that the victim stated that she was going to visit her boyfriend the evening of her murder

Is hearsay but is admissible because of its indicia of reliability.

The corpus delicti _______________ proved by the defense beyond a reasonable doubt before a defendant can be convicted and punished for the crime charged.

Is never.

The problem with hearsay testimony is that typically the person who actually saw the events

Is not on the witness stand.

The husband-wife (marital) privilege

Is recognized in all jurisdictions.

It has been held that courts should not take _______________of facts that are an element of the crime charged or serve as the basis for increased prison sentences.

Judicial notice

The oldest application of judicial notice is for

Matters generally known within the community or state.

Statements made to a physician for the purpose of diagnosis or treatment

May be both privileged and an exception to the hearsay rule.

If a defendant does not testify at his or her criminal trial, the judge or jury

May not use this as evidence of guilt or draw an inference of guilt.

The Magna Carta of 1215 was a historic first step toward establishing

Minimum standards for arresting and imprisoning people accused of crimes.

Circumstantial evidence frequently takes the form of showing that the defendant had means, opportunity, and

Motive.

In a Federal court, an exception to the physician-patient privilege exists for

No exception exists because there is no physician-patient privilege

The Confrontation Clause does not apply to ___________out-of-court statements.

Non-testimonial

In a criminal prosecution for assault with a deadly weapon, a statement by a shooting victim who believed that death was imminent, concerning the cause or circumstances of what the victim believed to be impending death would most likely be (Admissible as a Statement Under the Belief of Imminent Death. The rule of hearsay does not exclude these statements if the declarant is unavailable as a witness).

Not admissible as a dying declaration exception to hearsay

The general rule is that hearsay is

Not admissible.

If a defendant refuses to enter a plea, the court will enter a plea of

Not guilty.

If a party believes that a question posed by the opponent is improper, that party must make a/n ____________ to that question.

Objection

In the federal system, if the defendant raises the insanity defense, the burden of proof is

On the defendant to prove the defense by clear and convincing evidence.

Hearsay can be written statements, communicative conduct, or

Oral statements.

The attorney-client privilege does not apply when the client informs the attorney of

Planned crimes.

Which of the following is the weakest argument in favor of a guilty plea pursuant to a plea bargain?

Plea bargains are extremely transparent and provide a well-informed procedural process.

To validly enact federal statutes, including federal criminal laws, Congress must be acting within

Powers granted by the Constitution.

A _______________is an assumption that the law expressly directs that the trier of fact must make.

Presumption

The burden of ___________requires the party with the burden on a factual issue to introduce sufficient relevant evidence to prove the fact at issue.

Production

Regularly kept business records, public records, records of religious organizations, and family records are admissible under certain federal rules, known as the

Regularly kept records exception.

There is a hearsay exception for business, government, and religious records as long as the records are

Regularly kept.

The primary purpose of judicial notice is to

Save time and effort.

A criminal defendant's right to compel the appearance of witnesses at trial is found in the __________ Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Sixth

The admission of hearsay testimony may sometimes violate the ______________ Amendment.

Sixth

The right to a speedy and public trial is found in the __________ Amendment.

Sixth

The concept of federalism means that government power is shared between

State and federal governments.

For "testimonial" statements, Washington v. Crawford

Supplants hearsay exceptions with rights guaranteed under the Confrontation Clause.

People can assert the privilege against self-incrimination only for ___________ evidence.

Testimonial or communicative

Statements offered at trial to prove which of the following would definitely be hearsay?

The declarant was told by the defendant's mother that she saw the defendant shoot the victim

In criminal cases, inferences are conclusions or deductions that

The fact-finder may make if they so desire.

An indictment is a formal criminal charge issued by

The grand jury.

Children may testify only if

The judge allows them to testify after the child is questioned (voir dire).

One famous scholar stated that the development of the hearsay rule was the greatest contribution of the English legal system next to

The jury trial.

Under the "forfeiture by wrongdoing" rule, a defendant who deliberately makes a witness unavailable waives

The right to object to hearsay with regard to that witness.

Francis Bacon is in court claiming he wrote the plays accredited to Williams Shakespeare. Bacon alleges that Shakespeare stole the manuscripts from Bacon and published them under Shakespeare's name. Bacon offers the testimony of Shakespeare's friend that while Shakespeare and his friend were in a tavern talking, a glass suddenly fell on Shakespeare's head and shattered. While dazed and excited, Shakespeare shouted, "Bacon wrote the plays!" Shakespeare objects to the testimony. The judge will most likely rule that the statement is

The statement is not admissible as a statement against pecuniary, proprietary, or penal interest because the declarant must be unavailable at trial.

In an Alford plea, the defendant pleads guilty but refuses

To admit guilt.

Evidence consists of the materials presented to the trier of fact

To convince them of the existence of a fact.

"Competent evidence" is a catch-all term that includes reliable and relevant evidence that is not rendered inadmissible by some other rule.

True

If a person is engaging in conduct that is not meant to communicate, this would generally not be treated as hearsay because there is no attempt to be assertive.

True

In the adversary system, each side seeks to present evidence that is most favorable to its position.

True

The hearsay rule forbids only statements offered to prove the ______of the matter asserted.

Truth

To fall within the hearsay rule, the testimony must be offered to prove the

Truth of the matter asserted in the statement.

In most states and under the Federal Rules of Evidence, for most exceptions to the hearsay rule,

Unavailability of the declarant is not required.

In hearsay testimony, the person on the witness stand is

Usually not the person who personally witnessed or heard the evidence.

As fact finders, the jury alone determines the ______ given to all evidence.

Weight

Which of the following is an exception to the marital privilege?

When one spouse has committed a crime against another

An informant's privilege is not an ______ privilege and must give way when there is a compelling need to protect the rights of the accused.

absolute

Congress may pass criminal laws under the Commerce Clause only if a) the prohibited actions use the "channels" of interstate commerce, such as taking place in more than one state. b) The activity uses "instrumentalities" of interstate commerce, such as telephone lines, the postal service, among others. c) The activity has a "substantial effect" on interstate commerce. d) Any of the above.

d) Any of the above.

Direct evidence is evidence that proves a fact

without the need of inferences or presumptions.