Free Doctor of Jurisprudence Questions and Answers

Question 1

After his fiancée vanished, a man was escorted to a police station to be questioned. No Miranda warnings were issued to the man. After being questioned by a police officer for a short while, the man confessed to killing his fiancée and said that he discarded the gun he used to shoot her in a swamp several miles outside of the city. The cops spent several weeks conducting a thorough search of the marsh before discovering the gun. Murder in the first degree is the man's alleged crime. The gun will be used as evidence against the individual at trial by the prosecutor.

The man makes a case for suppressing the gun throughout the trial. Will he succeed?

Accepted Answer

No, because the exclusionary rule will not serve to exclude the gun from evidence.

Answer

The Supreme Court has held that the Miranda rule, which requires warnings before custodial interrogation, is a prophylactic rule designed to protect against compelled testimonial self-incrimination. Failure to give Miranda warnings makes the *statements* inadmissible, but it does not automatically require the suppression of *physical evidence* derived from those un-Mirandized statements, provided the statements themselves were voluntary. Since the gun is physical evidence and not testimonial, and there's no indication the confession was coerced, the exclusionary rule will not apply to suppress the gun.

Question 2

The plaintiff calls a witness to testify on her behalf in a civil battery lawsuit where the defendant was accused of tripping the plaintiff as she descended the stairs. The testimony of the plaintiff is verified by the witness.

The defendant's attorney then asks the witness during cross-examination, "Isn't it true that you tried to glance at your notes during the CPA exam last year in order to cheat?" The plaintiff's attorney raises an objection to the inquiry.

How should the court decide in regards to the objection?

Accepted Answer

It should be overruled because the question regards the credibility of the witness.

Answer

The question about the witness attempting to cheat on the CPA exam is permissible on cross-examination under Federal Rule of Evidence 608(b). This rule allows inquiry into specific instances of a witness's conduct if they are probative of the witness's character for truthfulness or untruthfulness. Cheating is an act of dishonesty, directly relevant to assessing the witness's credibility and whether they are likely to be truthful in their testimony. Therefore, the objection should be overruled.

Question 3

A man was attending a neighborhood get-together at his neighbor's home. The neighbor's new garden hose caught the man's attention. The man remembered that he needed to water his plants when he saw the garden hose. While the neighbor was having visitors over, the man made the decision to utilize the garden hose. In his backyard, the man extended the garden hose and started watering the plants. The garden hose, however, was stretched too thinly, split in half, and was irreparably damaged.

Will the neighbor win if they file a lawsuit for damages?

Accepted Answer

Yes, for the value of the garden hose before the neighbor broke it.

Answer

The man's actions constitute the tort of conversion. Conversion occurs when a person intentionally exercises dominion and control over another's chattel in a way that seriously interferes with the owner's rights, often requiring the converter to pay the full value of the chattel. The man intentionally took and used the neighbor's hose without permission, and by irreparably damaging it, he seriously interfered with the neighbor's property rights. The intent required is merely the intent to exercise control over the property, not necessarily to damage it. Therefore, the neighbor will win and recover the value of the hose at the time it was converted.

Question 4

Testator's son, a 70-year-old widower, had one unmarried adult son and one unmarried adult daughter. Testator designed his home "to my son for life, then to my son's children and their heirs."

The court will decide that the following is the appropriate course of action to interpret the words of the will:

Accepted Answer

Vested, subject to partial divestment.

Answer

The will grants a life estate to the son, with the remainder going to 'my son's children and their heirs.' Since the son already has an adult son and daughter, these beneficiaries are ascertained, and there is no condition precedent to their taking possession other than the natural termination of the life estate, making the remainder vested. However, under the common law 'fertile octogenarian' rule, the son is legally presumed capable of having more children, even at 70. If more children are born, they would join the class, thereby reducing the share of the existing children, making the remainder subject to partial divestment.

Question 5

In a legal case for the conversion of her car, the plaintiff is seeking to present evidence that the defendant approached her at her place of employment after her car vanished and claimed, ""I just stole your car. How does being stranded feel?The entire exchange was captured on camera by the company's security system. Regarding the plaintiff's testimony regarding his statement, the respondent objects.

Is the plaintiff's testimony about the comment made by the defendant admissible?

Accepted Answer

Yes, because it is not hearsay.

Answer

The defendant's statement, 'I just stole your car. How does being stranded feel?', is admissible because it is considered a party-opponent statement, which is explicitly excluded from the definition of hearsay under Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2). This rule states that a statement offered against an opposing party and made by the party in an individual capacity is not hearsay. The plaintiff is offering the defendant's own statement against him to prove the conversion, making it admissible.

JD - Juris Doctor or a Doctor of Jurisprudence Practice Test

JD - Juris Doctor or a Doctor of Jurisprudence Practice Test

Free Doctor of Jurisprudence Questions and Answers