Evidence Outline

Federal Rules of Evidence Outline
 
Rule 101 & 1101: Introduction to the FRE and definitions. FRE applies to Courts of US jurisdiction including the bankruptcy courts and courts with US magistrate judges. .
 
Rule 102: Purpose of FRE
 
Rule 103: Rulings on Evidence:
            (a) Preserving a Claim of Error: A party may claim error in a ruling to admit or exclude evidence only if the error affects a Substantial Right of the party AND:
                        (1) If the ruling admits evidence, the party, on the record:
                                    (A) timely objects or moves to strike AND
○     Objections occur before evidence fully comes out
○     Objections must be made as soon as grounds are known or reasonably should have been known
○     Objection must state specify if he is objecting to a part of the evidence/ question or its entirety.
○     Goal is to prevent jurors from hearing inadmissible evidence, objections that come too late don’t meet this purpose =.
                                    (B) states specific ground unless it was apparent from the context, OR
●     Appellate Courts will not consider challenges that failed to offer a specific ground for the challenge
                        (2) If the ruling excludes evidence the party informs the court of its substance by an offer of proof, unless the substance was apparent from the context.
●     When party A objects to evidence party B makes an offer of proof to show what the evidence entails. If the opponent fails to make an offer of proof he cannot object on appeal.
            (b) No Need to Renew an objection or offer proof: Once the court rules definitively on the record–either before or at trial–a party need not renew an objection or offer of proof to preserve a claim of error for appeal
●     If a Judge rules on a motion in limine, the losing party need not repeat any objection or offer of proof at trial.
                (c) Court’s Statement About the Ruling; Directing an Offer of Proof.  The court may make any statement about the character or form of the evidence, the objection made, and the ruling.  The court may direct that an offer of proof be made in question-and-answer form.
(d) Preventing the Jury from Hearing Inadmissible Evidence.  To the extent practicable, the court must conduct a jury trial so that inadmissible evidence is not suggested to the jury by any means. **Cross Reference Rule 105**
■     May require attorney’s to “approch the bench” for a sidebar discussion
■     Curative Instructions issued by the judge instruct the jury to disregard evidence and may explain why it is inappropriate.
■     Limiting Instruction: Judge instructs the jury to use a piece of evidence for specific purposes and not for others.
(e) Taking Notice of Plain Error.  A court may take notice of a plain error affecting a substantial right, even if the claim of error was not properly preserved.
●     For reversal the error must be “clear and obvious under current law, affect a parties substantial rights, and seriously affect the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings if left uncorrected”
            EXAMPLES:
1.    At trial the ADA introduces evidence of the Defendants numerous calls to a known drug dealer. The trial proceeded and the defense attorney later objected to a different piece of evidence. In chambers with the judge, away from the jury the defense attorney also objected to the phone calls.
a.    The objection should be overruled for lack of timeliness.
2.    During the questioning of a witness:
                        Attorney A: “Was Owen drinking that night?”
                        Attorney B: “I’m going to object to that judge”
                        Judge: “Overrule”
a.    Atty. B did not offer a flaw for the question to the judge; Since the objection was generic and did not offer a specific ground, it won’t be considered on appeal.
3.    Greg sues OSU for age discrimination. Greg seeks to introduce evidence that OSU has fired 10 assistant coaches over the past 3 year all who were over 5. OSU files a motion in limine seeking to suppress. If the trial judge admits the evidence and  OSU makes no  other objections, however after the trial OSU argues that the evidence of the prior firings was improperly admitted the Court of Appeals should  respond?
a.    Overrule the lower court if and only if the appellate court determines that the trial court abused its discretion by improperly admitting the evidence and the mistake affected a substantial right of Ohio.
Rule 104: Preliminary Questions
(a) In General.  The court must decide any preliminary question about whether a witness is qualified, a privilege exists, or evidence is admissible.  In so deciding, the court is not bound by evidence rules, except those on privilege.
(b) Relevance That Depends on a Fact.  When the relevance of evidence depends on whether a fact exists, proof must be introduced sufficient to support a finding that the fact does exist.  The court may admit the proposed evidence on the condition that the proof be introduced later.
(c) Conducting a Hearing So That the Jury Cannot Hear It.  The court must conduct any hearing on a preliminary question so that the jury cannot hear it if:
1.    the hearing involves the admissibility of a confession;
○     a defendant in a criminal case is a witness and so requests; or
i.      justice so requires.
1.    Cross-Examining a Defendant in a Criminal Case.  By testifying on a preliminary question, a defendant in a criminal case does not become subject to cross-examination on other issues in the case.
1.    Evidence Relevant to Weight and Credibility.  This rule does not limit a party’s right to introduce before the jury evidence that is relevant to the weight or credibility of other evidence.
 
Rule 105. Limiting Evidence That Is Not Admissible Against Other Parties or for Other Purposes
If the court admits evidence that is admissible against a party or for a purpose — but not against another party or for another purpose — the court, on timely request, must restrict the evidence to its proper scope and instruct the jury accordingly.
 
EXAMPLES:
1.     Plaintiff, injured by a defective gas valve brought suit. He admitted the defective valve as evidence, however the valve contained a loose screw unrelated to the incident. The Defense objected and asked that the loose screw be removed from the valve.
a.    Judge denied the motion but applied a limiting instruction telling the judge to disregard the loose screw because it had nothing to