OK Bar Evidence 3

Question 1

A pedestrian struck by a car sues the driver.
At trial she offers a bystander's excited 911 statement, "Oh my God, that blue car just blew through the stop sign!" made seconds after the crash.
The bystander is unavailable.
Admissible?

Accepted Answer

Yes, as an excited utterance relating to a startling event made under the stress of excitement

Answer

No, because the declarant must testify for any hearsay exception to apply

Answer

Yes, but only as a present sense impression, which requires the declarant to testify

Answer

No, because 911 calls are testimonial and barred

Question 2

In a will contest, a party offers the decedent's statement made a week before death: "I intend to cut my nephew out of my will." Offered to prove the decedent later acted on that intent, is the statement admissible?

Accepted Answer

Yes, as a statement of then-existing state of mind offered to prove subsequent conduct

Answer

No, because statements of intent are inadmissible in probate matters

Answer

No, because state-of-mind statements cannot prove future conduct

Answer

Yes, but only if the nephew had an opportunity to cross-examine the decedent

Question 3

A criminal defendant seeks to introduce a sworn statement against penal interest by a now-deceased acquaintance confessing to the charged crime. What additional showing does the exception require in this criminal case?

Accepted Answer

Corroborating circumstances clearly indicating the statement's trustworthiness

Answer

That the statement was made to law enforcement

Answer

Nothing more; unavailability alone suffices

Answer

That the declarant was granted immunity before speaking

Question 4

A hospital record states: "Patient says he was hit by a truck that ran a red light." The plaintiff offers the full entry in his suit against the trucker. Which part is most vulnerable to a hearsay objection?

Accepted Answer

The statement that the truck ran a red light, because fault attribution is not pertinent to diagnosis or treatment

Answer

The entire record, because hospital records are not business records

Answer

The statement that he was hit by a truck, because cause of injury is never admissible

Answer

Nothing; all statements in medical records are automatically admissible

Question 5

At a murder trial, the State offers the victim's statement, "Joe stabbed me," whispered to a paramedic while the victim believed death was imminent; the victim later died. Under the dying declaration exception, is the statement admissible?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in a homicide prosecution, a statement about the cause of death made under belief of imminent death is admissible

Answer

Yes, but only if the paramedic recorded the statement in writing

Answer

No, because the victim actually died, making cross-examination impossible

Answer

No, because dying declarations apply only in civil cases

Question 6

A prosecutor offers a lab report identifying a substance as cocaine without calling the analyst who wrote it. The defendant objects on Confrontation Clause grounds. What is the strongest result?

Accepted Answer

The report is excluded because it is testimonial and the defendant had no opportunity to cross-examine the analyst

Answer

The report is excluded only if the analyst is deceased

Answer

The report is admitted because business records never implicate confrontation

Answer

The report is admitted because scientific results are inherently reliable

Question 7

A co-conspirator's statement is offered against the defendant. To fit the exemption for co-conspirator statements, the statement must have been made:

Accepted Answer

During the course of and in furtherance of the conspiracy

Answer

Under oath at any prior proceeding

Answer

In the defendant's physical presence

Answer

After the conspiracy ended but while the declarant was in custody