CEC

Question 1

CEC §210

Answer 1

“Relevant evidence” means evidence (including evidence relevant to credibility) that has any tendency to prove or disprove any disputed fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action.

Question 2

CEC §225

Answer 2

“Statement” means (a) oral or written verbal expression or (b) nonverbal conduct of a person intended by him as a substitute for oral or written verbal expression.

Question 3

CEC §240

Answer 3

“Unavailable as a witness”

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), “unavailable as a witness” means that the declarant is any of the following:
(1) Exempted or precluded on the ground of privilege from testifying concerning the matter to which his or her statement is relevant.
(2) Disqualified from testifying to the matter.
(3) Dead or unable to attend or to testify at the hearing because of then existing physical or mental illness or infirmity.
(4) Absent from the hearing and the court is unable to compel his or her attendance by its process.
(5) Absent from the hearing and the proponent of his or her statement has exercised reasonable diligence but has been unable to procure his or her attendance by the court’s process.
(b) A declarant is not unavailable as a witness if the exemption, preclusion, disqualification, death, inability, or absence of the declarant was brought about by the procurement or wrongdoing of the proponent of his or her statement for the purpose of preventing the declarant from attending or testifying.

(c) Expert testimony which establishes that physical or mental trauma resulting from an alleged crime has caused harm to a witness of sufficient severity that the witness is physically unable to testify or is unable to testify without suffering substantial trauma may constitute a sufficient showing of unavailability pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a). As used in this section, the term “expert” means a physician and surgeon, including a psychiatrist, or any person described by subdivision (b), (c), or (e) of Section 1010.
The introduction of evidence to establish the unavailability of a witness under this subdivision shall not be deemed procurement of unavailability, in absence of proof to the contrary.

Question 4

CEC §250

Answer 4

“Writing” means handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photographing, photocopying, transmitting by electronic mail or facsimile, and every other means of recording upon any tangible thing, any form of communication or representation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combinations thereof, and any record thereby created, regardless of the manner in which the record has been stored.

Question 5

CEC §310

Answer 5

Questions of law for court

(a) All questions of law are to be decided by the court. Determination of issues of fact preliminary to the admission of evidence are to be decided by the court as provided in Article 2 (commencing with Section 400) of Chapter 4.

Question 6

CEC §350

Answer 6

No evidence is admissible except relevant evidence.

Question 7

CEC §351

Answer 7

Except as otherwise provided by statute, all relevant evidence is admissible.

Question 8

CEC §352

Answer 8

Discretion of court to exclude evidence

The court in its discretion may exclude evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the probability that its admission will:

(a) necessitate undue consumption of time or
(b) create substantial danger of undue prejudice, of confusing the issues, or of misleading the jury.

Question 9

CEC §354

Answer 9

Erroneous exclusion of evidence; effect

A verdict or finding shall not be set aside or reversed by reason of the erroneous exclusion of evidence unless the court is of the opinion that the error resulted in a miscarriage of justice and it appears of record that:

(a) The substance, purpose, and relevance of the excluded evidence was made known to the court by the questions asked, an offer of proof, or by any other means;
(b) The rulings of the court made compliance with subdivision (a) futile; or
(c) The evidence was sought by questions asked during cross-examination or recross-examination.

Question 10

CEC §355

Answer 10

Limited admissibility

When evidence is admissible as to one party or for one purpose and is inadmissible as to another party or for another purpose, the court upon request shall restrict the evidence to its proper scope and instruct the jury accordingly.

Question 11

CEC §356

Answer 11

Where part of an act, declaration, conversation, or writing is given in evidence by one party, the whole on the same subject may be inquired into by an adverse party;

When a letter is read, the answer may be given

When a declaration, conversation, or writing is given in evidence, any other evidence which is necessary to make it understood may also be given in evidence.

Question 12

CEC §400

Answer 12

“Preliminary fact” means a fact upon the existence or nonexistence of which depends the admissibility or inadmissibility of evidence.

The phrase “the admissibility or inadmissibility of evidence” includes the qualification or disqualification of a person to be a witness and the existence or nonexistence of a privilege.

Question 13

CEC §403

Answer 13

Determination of foundational and other preliminary facts where relevancy, personal knowledge, or authenticity is disputed.

(a) The proponent of the evidence must prove the preliminary facts, or the proffered evidence is inadmissible UNLESS the court finds that there is evidence sufficient to sustain a finding of the existence of the preliminary fact, when:
(1) The relevance of the proffered evidence depends on the existence of the preliminary fact;
(2) The preliminary fact is the personal knowledge of a witness concerning the subject matter of his testimony;
(3) The preliminary fact is the authenticity of a writing; or
(4) The proffered evidence is of a statement or other conduct of a particular person and the preliminary fact is whether that person made the statement or so conducted himself.
(b) The court may admit conditionally the proffered evidence under this section, subject to evidence of the preliminary fact being supplied later in the course of the trial.
(c) If the court admits the proffered evidence under this section·, the court:
(1) May, and on request shall, instruct the jury to determine whether the preliminary fact exists and to disregard the proffered evidence unless the jury finds that the preliminary fact does exist.
(2) Shall instruct the jury to disregard the proffered evidence if the court subsequently determines that a jury could not reasonably find that the preliminary fact exists.

Question 14

CEC §405

Answer 14

Determination of foundational and other preliminary facts in other cases

(a) When the existence of a preliminary fact is disputed, the court shall indicate which party has the burden of producing evidence and the burden of proof on the issue as implied by the rule of law under which the question arises.

The court shall determine the existence or nonexistence of the preliminary fact and shall admit or exclude the proffered evidence as required by the rule of law under which the question arises.

(b) If a preliminary fact is also a fact in issue in the action:
(1) The jury shall not be informed of the court’s determination as to existence or nonexistence of the preliminary fact.

(2) If the proffered evidence is admitted, the jury shall not be instructed to disregard the evidence if its determination of the fact differs from the court’s determination of the preliminary fact

Question 15

CEC §406

Answer 15

Evidence affecting weight or credibility

This article does not limit the right of a party to introduce before the trier of fact evidence relevant to weight or credibility.

Question 16

CEC §450

Answer 16

Judicial notice may be taken only as authorized by law

Question 17

CEC §451

Answer 17

Matters which must be judicially noticed:

(a) Statutory law of this state and of the United States and the provisions of any charter described in Section 3, 4, or 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution.
(b) Any matter made a subject of judicial notice by Section 11343.6, 11344.6, or 18576 of the Government Code or by Section 1507 of Title 44 of the United States Code.
(c) Rules of professional conduct for members of the bar adopted pursuant to Section 6076 of the Business and Professions Code and rules of practice and procedure for the courts of this state adopted by the Judicial Council.
(d) Rules of pleading, practice, and procedure prescribed by the United States Supreme Court, such as the Rules of the United States Supreme Court, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Admiralty Rules, the Rules of the Court of Claims, the Rules of the Customs Court, and the General Orders and Forms in Bankruptcy.
(e) The true signification of all English words and phrases and of all legal expressions.
(f) Facts and propositions of generalized knowledge that are so universally known that they cannot reasonably be the subject of dispute.

Question 18

CEC §452

Answer 18

Matters which may be judicially noticed

Judicial notice may be taken of the following matters to the extent that they are not embraced within Section 451:

(a) The decisional, constitutional, and statutory law of any state of the United States and the resolutions and private acts of the Congress of the United States and of the Legislature of this state.
(b) Regulations and legislative enactments issued by or under the authority of the United States or any public entity in the United States.
(c) Official acts of the legislative, executive, and judicial departments of the United States and of any state of the United States.
(d) Records of (1) any court of this state or (2) any court of record of the United States or of any state of the United States.
(e) Rules of court of (1) any court of this state or (2) any court of record of the United States or of any state of the United States.
(f) The law of an organization of nations and of foreign nations and public entities in foreign nations.
(g) Facts and propositions that are of such common knowledge within the territorial jurisdiction of the court that they cannot reasonably be the subject of dispute.
(h) Facts and propositions that are not reasonably subject to dispute and are capable of immediate and accurate determination by resort to sources of reasonably indisputable accuracy.

Question 19

CEC §453

Answer 19

Compulsory judicial notice upon request

The trial court shall take judicial notice of any matter specified in Section 452 if a party requests it and:

(a) Gives each adverse party sufficient notice of the request, through the pleadings or otherwise, to enable such adverse party to prepare to meet the request; and
(b) Furnishes the court with sufficient information to enable it to take judicial notice of the matter.

Question 20

CEC §454

Answer 20

Information that may be used in taking judicial notice

(a) In determining the propriety of taking judicial notice of a matter, or the tenor thereof:
(1) Any source of pertinent information, including the advice of persons learned in the subject matter, may be consulted or used, whether or not furnished by a party.
(2) Exclusionary rules of evidence do not apply except for Section 352 and the rules of privilege.
(b) Where the subject of judicial notice is the law of an organization of nations, a foreign nation, or a public entity in a foreign nation and the court resorts to the advice of persons learned in the subject matter, such advice, if not received in open court, shall be in writing.

Question 21

CEC §457

Answer 21

Instructing jury on matter judicially noticed

If a matter judicially noticed is a matter which would otherwise have been for determination by the jury, the trial court may, and upon request shall, instruct the jury to accept as a fact the matter so noticed.

Question 22

CEC §459

Answer 22

Judicial notice by reviewing court

(a) The reviewing court shall take judicial notice of: (1) each matter properly noticed by the trial court; and (2) each matter that the trial court was required to notice under Section 451 or 453. The reviewing court may take judicial notice of any matter specified in Section 452. The reviewing court may take judicial notice of a matter in a tenor different from that noticed by the trial court.
(b) In determining the propriety of taking judicial notice of a matter, or the tenor thereof, the reviewing court has the same power as the trial court under Section 454.
(c) When taking judicial notice under this section of a matter specified in Section 452 or in subdivision (f) of Section 451 that is of substantial consequence to the determination of the action, the reviewing court shall comply with the provisions of subdivision (a) of Section 455 if the matter was not theretofore judicially noticed in the action.
(d) In determining the propriety of taking judicial notice of a matter specified in Section 452 or in subdivision (f) of Section 451 that is of substantial consequence to the determination of the action, or the tenor thereof, if the reviewing court resorts to any source of information not received in open court or not included in the record of the action, including the advice of persons learned in the subject matter, the reviewing court shall afford each party reasonable opportunity to meet such information before judicial notice of the matter may be taken.

Question 23

CEC §700

Answer 23

§ 700. General rule as to competency

Except as otherwise provided by statute, every person, irrespective of age, is qualified to be a witness and no person is disqualified to testify to any matter.

Question 24

CEC §701

Answer 24

Disqualification of witness

(a) A person is disqualified to be a witness if he or she is:
(1) Incapable of expressing himself or herself concerning the matter so as to be understood, either directly or through interpretation by one who can understand him; or
(2) Incapable of understanding the duty of a witness to tell the truth.
(b) In any proceeding held outside the presence of a jury, the court may reserve challenges to the competency of a witness until the conclusion of the direct examination of that witness.

Question 25

CEC §702

Answer 25

Personal knowledge of witness

(a) Subject to Section 801, the testimony of a witness concerning a particular matter is inadmissible unless he has personal knowledge of the matter. Against the objection of a party, such personal knowledge must be shown before the witness may testify concerning the matter.
(b) A witness’ personal knowledge of a matter may be shown by any otherwise admissible evidence, including his own testimony.

Question 26

CEC §703

Answer 26

Judge as witness

(a) Before the judge presiding at the trial of an action may be called to testify in that trial as a witness, he shall, in proceedings held out of the presence and hearing of the jury, inform
the parties of the information he has concerning any fact or matter about which he will be called to testify.

(b) Against the objection of a party, the judge presiding at the trial of an action may not testify in that trial as a witness. Upon such objection, the judge shall declare a mistrial and order the action assigned for trial before another judge.
(c) The calling of the judge presiding at a trial to testify in that trial as a witness shall be deemed a consent to the granting of a motion for mistrial, and an objection to such calling of a judge shall be deemed a motion for mistrial.
(d) In the absence of objection by a party, the judge presiding at the trial of an action may testify in that trial as a witness.