Validity of evidence, issues, authenticating, Relevance Flashcards
(187 cards)
issue with how the jury weights the importance of evidence
The jury may overweight their evidentiary value
Rule 901: Authenticating or Identifying Evidence
What must be produced to be authenticated?
sufficient evidence to support a finding that the item is what the proponent claims it to be
10 Examples given in 401: Authenticating or Identifying Evidence
- Witness w/ knowledge
- Nonexpert opinion about handwriting
- Comparison by an expert witness of the trier of fact
- Distinctive Charateristics and the like
- Opinion about a voice
- Evidence about a telephone conversation
- Evidence about Public Records
- Evidence about ancient documents or data complications
- Evidence about a process or system
- methods provided by a statute or rule
Authorization
The process of proving that an item of evidence is what its proponet claims it to be
901(a): 3 general principles of authentication
- Evidence must be authenticated “in order to have it admitted”
- Evidence is authenticated by showing that the item is what the proponet claims it to be
- The showing must be sufficent to support a finding
Evidence contesting the authenticity of an item that is already deemed authenticated and admissible, is
admissible
Limit on the power a party offering tangible evidence to decide on what they claim that evidence to be:
The claim must be consistent with establishing that the item is relevent
The burden of proof needed when proving authenticity
sufficent to support a finding
meaning when:
evidence is “sufficent to support a finding”
so long a reasonable juror could conclude that the evidence is what it is claimed to be
Authentication is what equivilant to personal knowledge
Object
Authentication is also called
laying the foundation
Rule 901: Authentication
The list of examples is not
exhaustive, there may be more circumstances
The person who can authenticate is the person who has
the Personal Knowledge needed to provide authenticating testiony
FP (Facts Precieved) = FT (Facts that can be testified)
Authenticating a Photograph
Personal knowledge requirement varies based on
what the party offering the photograph claims it to be
A witness can authenticate a photograph by testifying that the photo is a
“fair and accurate dipiction” of a location
Authenticating a Photograph
When a witness authenticates a photo by saying that it is a “fair and accurate” depiction of the location, the photo is used as demonstrative evidence, if used to
help illustrate or explain witness testimony
If an item is unique in charater or appearance then
often a single witness can authenticate the item
If the item is indistinguishable from other similar items then
more then one witnesses perception is needed to authenticate the item
When an item is indistinguishable from other similar items, a single witness can only
say that an item looks like the item percieved
if an item is indistinguishable from similar or generic items, what is needed to authenticate the item
the chain of custody
In proving the chain of custody, you are showing that
the evidence is in the safe keeping of one or more specific persons
besides being generic, a item can need a chain of custody whenever the item is unique but
is susceptabe to alteration in ways that can be difficult to detect
ex digital sounds or images
In proving chain of custody, you are showing that the evidence was
continuously in the safekeeping of one or more specific persons
In proving chain of custody, where do you start and end the analysis on the timeline of the evidence
- begin with the event that connects the evidence to the case
- Continue until the moment the evidence was brought to court and marked for identification