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

An excited utterance about a startling event made while under the stress of excitement is admissible regardless of the declarant's availability.

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

A declarant's statement of present intent is admissible under the state-of-mind exception to prove the declarant later acted in conformity with that intent.

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

A statement against penal interest offered to exculpate a criminal defendant requires corroborating circumstances that clearly indicate its trustworthiness.

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

Statements of cause pertinent to diagnosis or treatment are admissible, but attributions of fault like running a red light generally are not.

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

A dying declaration concerning the cause or circumstances of impending death is admissible in a homicide prosecution when the declarant believed death was imminent.

(OK Bar) Oklahoma Bar Exam Practice Test

(OK Bar) Oklahoma Bar Exam Practice Test

OK Bar Evidence 3