Class One: Introduction to Trial & What is Evidence? Flashcards
(3 cards)
What are the primary types of evidence encountered in a jury trial?
In a trial, you’ll encounter several types of evidence, each with its own rules for admission:
* Oral Testimony: This is the most common form, where witnesses speak from the stand
* Fact Witnesses: Provide information they personally observed
* Expert Witnesses: Rely on specialized knowledge to interpret evidence and assist the jury
* Real Evidence: Physical evidence that played a direct role in the controversy, such as a bloodstained shirt or a gun
* Documentary Evidence: Any writing or recording of information, including bills, contracts, emails, or business records
* Demonstrative Evidence: Parties create these to illustrate facts, like charts, maps, or reconstructions, to help the jury understand an issue
* Judicial Notice: A fact that is “generally known” or “accurately and readily determined” from an unimpeachable source, like Philadelphia being in Pennsylvania
* Stipulations: Agreements between parties on certain facts
* Not Attorney Statements: Nothing attorneys say, whether in opening statements or closing arguments, is evidence; they are merely argument or a preview of what the evidence will show
What is the overall structure of a jury trial process, from beginning to end?
The trial process, moving chronologically, typically includes:
* Grand Jury Indictment (Uncommon in California Criminal Law)
* Pre-trial Evidence Arguments (e.g., Motions in Limine, where evidentiary issues are hashed out before trial to inform strategy and prevent juror bias)
* Jury Selection (Voir Dire)
* Opening Arguments/Statements (a preview of what evidence will show, not evidence itself)
* Prosecution or Plaintiff’s Case in Chief (presenting their main evidence)
* Closing Arguments (attorneys weave facts and evidence into a persuasive narrative
* Jury Instructions
* Jury Deliberations
What is the fundamental purpose and intent behind the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE 102)?
The FRE, as outlined in Rule 102, exist to:
* Promote fairness in proceedings
* Eliminate unjustifiable expense and delay
* Ascertain the truth
* Secure a just determination
* Protect the jury from misleading information and ensure judicial efficiency
