LLM Civil Procedure & Evidence 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, what is the scope of permissible discovery?
- Any nonprivileged matter relevant to any party's claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case (Correct answer)
- Only documents and information that are directly admissible at trial
- Information relevant only to the plaintiff's claims
- All documents in the opposing party's possession regardless of relevance
Correct answer: Any nonprivileged matter relevant to any party's claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case
FRCP Rule 26(b)(1) permits discovery of any nonprivileged matter relevant to any party's claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case, considering factors like importance and burden.
Question 2: The 'work product doctrine' protects from discovery materials prepared:
- By an attorney in anticipation of litigation (Correct answer)
- By any employee of a company involved in litigation
- For internal business use only, unrelated to litigation
- By expert witnesses hired for trial preparation
Correct answer: By an attorney in anticipation of litigation
The work product doctrine, codified in FRCP Rule 26(b)(3), protects documents and tangible things prepared by a party or its representative in anticipation of litigation.
Question 3: Under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b), evidence of prior bad acts is:
- Admissible to prove motive, intent, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake but not character (Correct answer)
- Always admissible when offered by the prosecution in criminal cases
- Admissible only if the prior acts resulted in a conviction
- Inadmissible for any purpose in civil cases
Correct answer: Admissible to prove motive, intent, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake but not character
FRE 404(b) prohibits other acts evidence to prove character and conforming action, but allows it for purposes such as proving intent, motive, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake.
Question 4: What is 'personal jurisdiction' and what is the constitutional minimum contact standard?
- A court's power over a defendant, requiring minimum contacts with the forum state such that exercising jurisdiction is fair and reasonable (Correct answer)
- The court's authority over any dispute arising in the state
- Jurisdiction based solely on the defendant's physical presence
- Federal court authority to hear cases against foreign defendants
Correct answer: A court's power over a defendant, requiring minimum contacts with the forum state such that exercising jurisdiction is fair and reasonable
Personal jurisdiction requires that the defendant have minimum contacts with the forum state such that maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice, per International Shoe Co. v. Washington.
Question 5: Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, the 'hearsay rule' excludes out-of-court statements offered to prove:
- The truth of the matter asserted in the statement (Correct answer)
- The existence of the statement
- The declarant's state of mind only
- Any fact in the case regardless of purpose
Correct answer: The truth of the matter asserted in the statement
FRE 801 defines hearsay as an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted; only such statements are subject to the hearsay prohibition under FRE 802.
Question 6: What standard of proof is required in a federal civil lawsuit?
- Preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not) (Correct answer)
- Clear and convincing evidence
- Beyond a reasonable doubt
- Probable cause
Correct answer: Preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not)
The standard of proof in ordinary civil cases is preponderance of the evidence, meaning the party bearing the burden must show it is more likely than not (greater than 50%) that their claim is true.
LLM Civil Procedure & Evidence 2
Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, what is the scope of permissible discovery?