AL Bar Evidence 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, hearsay is defined as an out-of-court statement offered to prove:
- The declarant's state of mind
- The truth of the matter asserted (Correct answer)
- That the statement was made
- The listener's reaction
Correct answer: The truth of the matter asserted
FRE 801 defines hearsay as an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted in the statement.
Question 2: Prior consistent statements of a witness are admissible as non-hearsay under FRE 801(d)(1)(B) when offered to:
- Bolster the witness's credibility generally
- Rehabilitate the witness after a charge of recent fabrication or improper influence (Correct answer)
- Contradict a prior inconsistent statement
- Prove the truth of the matters stated
Correct answer: Rehabilitate the witness after a charge of recent fabrication or improper influence
FRE 801(d)(1)(B) allows prior consistent statements to rehabilitate a witness whose testimony has been attacked as recently fabricated or improperly influenced.
Question 3: The excited utterance exception to hearsay requires that the statement:
- Be made immediately after the event
- Relate to a startling event while the declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by it (Correct answer)
- Be corroborated by physical evidence
- Come from an unavailable declarant
Correct answer: Relate to a startling event while the declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by it
FRE 803(2) requires that the statement relate to a startling event and be made while the declarant was still under the stress of excitement from that event.
Question 4: Character evidence offered to show that a person acted in conformity with that character on a particular occasion is generally:
- Always admissible
- Admissible in civil cases only
- Inadmissible under FRE 404(a) (Correct answer)
- Admissible if the character trait is relevant
Correct answer: Inadmissible under FRE 404(a)
FRE 404(a) prohibits using character evidence to prove that a person acted in conformity with that character trait on the occasion in question.
Question 5: Lay witness opinion testimony is admissible under FRE 701 if the opinion is:
- Supported by scientific methodology
- Rationally based on the witness's perceptions, helpful to the trier of fact, and not based on specialized knowledge (Correct answer)
- Consistent with expert testimony in the field
- About the ultimate issue in the case
Correct answer: Rationally based on the witness's perceptions, helpful to the trier of fact, and not based on specialized knowledge
FRE 701 permits lay opinion when it is rationally grounded in personal perception, helpful to the factfinder, and does not stray into specialized expert knowledge.
Question 6: The best evidence rule requires the original document to prove its contents unless:
- The document is more than ten years old
- The original is lost or destroyed without bad faith, unavailable, or a collateral matter (Correct answer)
- A copy is certified by a notary
- The opposing party stipulates to the copy's accuracy
Correct answer: The original is lost or destroyed without bad faith, unavailable, or a collateral matter
FRE 1002-1004 allow secondary evidence when the original is genuinely lost, unavailable through no bad faith, or when the document is collateral to the main issue.
AL Bar Evidence 1
Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, hearsay is defined as an out-of-court statement offered to prove: