Evidence Flashcards
7 cards from real IN BAR practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Evidence flashcards as text
A 911 call made during a home invasion describing the intruder is offered at trial. The strongest hearsay exception is:
Answer: Excited utterance
A statement made under the stress of a startling event qualifies as an excited utterance under FRE 803(2).
Under the Confrontation Clause as interpreted in Crawford v. Washington, testimonial hearsay is inadmissible against a criminal defendant unless:
Answer: The declarant is unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity for cross-examination
Crawford requires unavailability plus a prior opportunity to cross-examine for testimonial statements.
A party seeks to impeach a witness with a 15-year-old felony conviction for which the witness finished serving her sentence 12 years ago. The conviction is admissible only if:
Answer: Its probative value substantially outweighs its prejudicial effect and reasonable notice is given
Under FRE 609(b), convictions over ten years old require probative value substantially outweighing prejudice plus written notice.
During settlement negotiations, a defendant says, 'I know my brakes were bad, but I'll only pay half.' At trial, the plaintiff offers this statement. It is:
Answer: Inadmissible under Rule 408 as a statement made during compromise negotiations
Rule 408 excludes both offers to compromise and statements made during compromise negotiations when offered to prove liability.
A photocopy of a contract is offered at trial. Under the best evidence rule, the copy is:
Answer: Admissible as a duplicate unless there is a genuine question about the original's authenticity
Rule 1003 makes duplicates admissible to the same extent as originals absent a genuine authenticity dispute or unfairness.
A treating physician's testimony about a patient's statement that 'the pain started when the forklift hit me' is admissible because:
Answer: It is a statement for medical diagnosis or treatment
FRE 803(4) admits statements about the cause of a condition when reasonably pertinent to diagnosis or treatment.
In a civil case tried in federal court under diversity jurisdiction, the competency of a witness is determined by:
Answer: State law when state law supplies the rule of decision
Under FRE 601, state competency law governs when state law supplies the rule of decision for a claim or defense.