Law of Evidence
Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
Law of Evidence explores the principles and rules governing the admissibility, relevance, and weight of evidence in legal proceedings. This course examines various forms of evidence including oral testimony, documentary and real evidence and addresses key concepts such as the burden of proof, standards of proof, and the exclusion of evidence on grounds such as privilege and hearsay. Students will analyze statutory provisions and case law, and develop skills in evaluating and presenting evidence within both civil and criminal justice systems. The course provides a foundational understanding essential for effective legal practice and decision-making in courts of law.
Recommended Textbook
Criminal Evidence Principles and Cases 8th Edition by Thomas J. Gardner
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Chapter 1: History and Development of the Law of Criminal Justice
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Q1) The Magna Carta began the development of the concept in law that there had to be ________ cause to justify arresting or holding a person in custody.
Answer: probable
Q2) The first twelve Amendments to the U.S.Constitution are called the Bill of Rights.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) The Magna Carta of 1215 was the first document establishing A)minimum standards for arresting and imprisoning people accused of crimes. B)the divine right of kings.
C)that the monarchy was the only source of personal rights. D)the writ of mandamus.
Answer: B
Q4) Under American law, the prosecution must prove the defendant's guilty beyond a _____________ doubt.
Answer: reasonable
Q5) The formal charging document issued by a grand jury is called a/n
Answer: indictment
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Chapter 2: Important Aspects of the American Criminal Justice System
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Sample Questions
Q1) The American system of justice is basically an adversary system.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Reliable evidence is defined as evidence that is likely to be
A)true or accurate.
B)prejudicial to one side or the other.
C)subject to the exclusionary rule.
D)exculpatory.
Answer: A
Q3) The American system of criminal justice is an adversarial one, not a/n ____________ one.
Answer: inquisitorial
Q4) If the judge or jury is not allowed to see or hear the evidence, the evidence is said to be ____________.
Answer: inadmissible
Q5) ___________ evidence is that which possesses a significant degree of believability.
Answer: Reliable
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Chapter 3: Using Evidence to Determine Guilt or Innocence
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the U.S., the overwhelming majority of persons charged with felonies ultimately will plead
A)not guilty.
B)guilty.
C)no contest.
D)double jeopardy.
Answer: B
Q2) ____________ is usually the last resort or final step in defendants attempting to overturn their convictions.
Answer: Habeus Corpus
Q3) In using the insanity defense, most defendants also enter a not guilty plea. A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) The Constitution never allows a judge to accept an Alford plea. A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q5) A/n ___________ is a formal criminal charge issued by a grand jury.
Answer: indictment
5
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Chapter 4: Direct and Circumstantial Evidence and the Use of Inferences
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Q1) In Holland v.U.S.(1954), the U.S.Supreme Court upheld an income tax evasion conviction on the basis of circumstantial evidence in the form of
A)eyewitness testimony.
B)impression of neighbors about the defendant's income.
C)the net worth method.
D)written confessions.
Q2) Every essential element of the crime charged must be proved by the government beyond reasonable __________in order to convict and punish a defendant for the crime charged.
A)doubt
B)conclusion
C)presumption
D)assumption
Q3) The U.S.Supreme Court has held that trial judges must give juries a definition of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The ____________ clause of the Constitution requires that guilt be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Chapter 5: Witnesses and the Testimony of Witnesses
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Q1) As fact finders, the jury alone determines the ______ given to all evidence.
A)exceptions
B)legality
C)weight
D)sequence
Q2) The privilege against self-incrimination gives the defendant a right to testify at his or her trial.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Adults are generally ___________ to be competent witnesses.
Q4) A police officer can never be an expert witness.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Expert testimony based on handwriting analysis is generally ___________in both federal and state courts under Federal Rules of Evidence 702 and similar state rules
A)inadmissible
B)excluded
C)subjective
D)admissible
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Chapter 6: Judicial Notice, Privileges of Witnesses, and Shield Laws
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Q1) ?What are the requirements of the physician-patient privilege? What are some of the exceptions created in some jurisdictions?
Q2) A judge can take judicial notice of facts that are known solely to the judge.
A)True
B)False
Q3) There is an exception to the psychotherapist-patient privilege for ____________ patients.
Q4) The _________ against self-incrimination is seen as crucial to our adversarial and accusatorial system of justice.
Q5) The term "exemplar" means a ______________.
Q6) Judicial _____________ is an exception to the traditional methods of presenting evidence.
Q7) The police-informant privilege involves a privilege not to reveal the identity of confidential police informants.
A)True B)False
Q9) The ________-client privilege was the first privilege recognized at common law. Page 8
Q8) The privilege against self-incrimination applies only to testimonial or _____________ evidence.
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Chapter 7: The Use of Hearsay in the Courtroom
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Sample Questions
Q1) The 1603 trial of William Penn sparked interest in reforming the law of hearsay.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Hearsay can be written statements, communicative conduct, or A)oral statements.
B)intuition
C)hypnotically refreshed testimony.
D)telepathic communications.
Q3) The general rule is that hearsay evidence is not admissible.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The hearsay rule does not apply to various _____________that would otherwise literally fall within the definition of hearsay.
Q5) In the Federal Rules of Evidence, one form of statement that is specifically excluded from the definition of hearsay is a/n _____________ by a party- opponent.
Q6) Among the most infamous trials in English history were the Star Chamber trials of the 1500s and 1600s.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: The Confrontation Clause and Exceptions to the Hearsay Rule
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Sample Questions
Q1) If the declarant makes a statement that could subject them to criminal charges, the statement would probably be admissible under the exception for statements A)of exculpation.
B)against penal interest.
C)contrary to reputational security.
D)contrary to Miranda rights.
Q2) A long delay in reporting a sexual assault could be a factor considered by a jury in determining whether there was _______to the sexual act.
Q3) Prior to Crawford v.Washington, if a form of statement was traditionally recognized as an exception to the hearsay rule it was also recognized as an exception to the A)Confrontation Clause.
B)right to counsel.
C)privilege against self-incrimination.
D)right to notice of the charges.
Q4) The Confrontation Clause requires that states create exceptions to the hearsay rule.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: The Exclusionary Rule
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Sample Questions
Q1) The primary purpose of the exclusionary rule is to deter ____________ misconduct.
Q2) Improper police conduct must be deterred in order to accomplish the purpose of the _________ Amendment.
A)Second
B)Eighth
C)First
D)Fourth
Q3) If the improper police conduct is a failure to give a Miranda warning, the courts always apply the poisonous tree doctrine and suppress evidence obtained.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The U.S.Supreme Court made the federal exclusionary rule mandatory for state courts in
A)Mapp v.Ohio.
B)Weeks v.U.S.
C)Miranda v.Arizona.
D)Settles v.Arkansas.
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Chapter 10: Where the Exclusionary Rule Does Not Apply
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Q1) The Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule applies in probation and parole revocation proceedings.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Consent is not needed in abandoned nor _______________ circumstances.
Q3) Property left in a motel room or storage locker after the rental agreement has expired
A)automatically become property of the police.
B)are deemed abandoned only after the owner of the items is given notice.
C)may be deemed abandoned.
D)become the property of the motel or locker owner.
Q4) Society pays a high price to secure the exclusionary rule's benefits.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The area immediately around a house (e.g.yard) is called the ____________.
Q6) The Fourth Amendment applies to private persons acting without any government involvement.
A)True
B)False
Q7) When does an individual lose their expectation of privacy in rental property?
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Chapter 11: Special Needs and Administrative Searches
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Q1) In a government workplace, government workers have reduced Fourth Amendment protection as compared to their protection at home.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Drug testing of police officers can generally be conducted on reasonable suspicion.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Security screenings and seizures of items cannot occur without warrants or probable cause at A)airports.
B)courthouses.
C)public buildings.
D)private functions.
Q4) Enterprises involving liquor, firearms, coal mining, pharmacies, and taverns are among those deemed to be "closely regulated businesses."
A)True
B)False
Q5) Public schools may randomly drug test student _____________.
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Chapter 12: Obtaining Statements and Confessions for Use
As Evidence
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Q1) Explain the Bruton rule and give an example.What are some of the things the prosecution can do to deal with Bruton problems?
Q2) Private citizens who are acting totally on their own and interrogating suspects do not have to give Miranda warnings.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A/n ___is any statement or conduct from which guilt of the crime can be inferred.
A)incriminating statement.
B)confession
C)excited utterance
D)dying declaration
Q4) Discuss Miranda in relation to questioning during a booking procedure.
Q5) The rescue doctrine used in California courts is similar to the Supreme Court's ___________ exception to Miranda.
A)conspicuous emergency
B)Homeland Security
C)public safety
D)confidentiality
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Chapter 13: The Law Governing Identification Evidence
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Sample Questions
Q1) Eyewitness identifications are extremely reliable.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Composite sketches developed by police are used for identification by A)victims.
B)witnesses.
C)perpetrators
D)both victims and witnesses.
Q3) Which of the following identification procedures is generally the most suggestive?
A)lineup
B)photographic display
C)victim looking through books of mug shots
D)showup
Q4) Using a single photograph to obtain identification always violates due process.
A)True
B)False
Q5) ________should be used whenever practical and must be used in situations where show- ups would not be authorized.
Q6) Define the AMBER alert system.
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Chapter 14: Obtaining Physical and Other Evidence
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Q1) Warrantless searches and seizures inside a __________ are presumptively (generally) unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
Q2) There are no exceptions to the knock and announce rule for executing warrants.
A)True
B)False
Q3) At a minimum, stop and frisk require that the officer have __________ suspicion.
Q4) At a minimum, an arrest requires A)suspicion.
B)reasonable suspicion.
C)probable cause.
D)clear and convincing evidence.
Q5) In general, under the Fourth Amendment, what is the required procedure when police arrive at a residence to serve a warrant? When are these requirements excused? Be sure to provide examples.
Q6) Otherwise valid inventory searches require A)a warrant.
B)reasonable suspicion.
C)probable cause.
D)no additional evidentiary justification.
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Q7) Search and seizure protections are found in the ____________ Amendment.
Chapter 15: Obtaining Evidence From Computers or by Use
of Search Warrants, Wiretapping, or Dogs Trained to
Indicate an Alert
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Q1) Federal and state wiretapping and eavesdropping laws have exceptions for family members who are monitoring other family members.
A)True
B)False
Q2) If the government performs a search without a warrant, to justify the search, the government must show that the search falls within one of the ____________ to the warrant requirement.
A)exceptions
B)margins
C)exclusions
D)inclusions
Q3) The law of electronic surveillance was modified by the USA ____________ Act.
Q4) An alert by a trained drug detection dog constitutes reasonable suspicion but cannot constitute probable cause.
A)True
B)False
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Q5) Discuss, describe, compare, and contrast anticipatory, no-knock, and sneak-and-peak warrants.Provide examples of each.
Q6) Warrants must be issued by a neutral and ____________ magistrate or judge.
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Chapter 16: The Crime Scene, The Chain of Custody
Requirement, and the Use of Fingerprints and Trace Evidence
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Q1) In Mincey v.Arizona, the Supreme Court held that there is no ____________ scene exception to the warrant requirement.
Q2) Discuss the ways in which a person may alter a crime scene in order to obstruct officers from conducting an investigation.
Q3) Exigent circumstances exist when there is some sort of emergency.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Fingerprints are ____________ (rather than direct) evidence of guilt.
Q5) Proof of chain of custody is required for admissibility of DNA evidence.
A)True B)False
Q6) Fingerprint evidence is circumstantial evidence rather than direct evidence. A)True
B)False
Q7) Minute or microscopic evidence is referred to as ____________ evidence.
Q8) Define and discuss the concept of "standing." What are the requirements for a person to have standing to contest a Fourth Amendment search? Be sure to provide Page 20
Q9) The term "__________" means having a legal right to raise a legal issue.
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Chapter 17: Videotapes, Photographs, Documents, and Writings As Evidence
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Q1) Photographs and videotapes are demonstrative __________because they portray (demonstrate) objects, persons, or events not in the courtroom.
A)hearsay
B)articles
C)facts
D)evidence
Q2) The __________witness method is sometimes used to authenticate videotapes.
Q3) _________________ evidence is important in civil personal injury trials.
Q4) Generally, anything that conveys a message is a ___________.
A)conveyance
B)document.
C)transmission
D)declaration
Q5) Photographs and videotapes are ___________evidence because they portray objects, persons, or events not in the courtroom.
Q6) In United States v.Flores-Montano, the decision reversed a defendant's conviction because of testimony based on a boat's GPS system.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 18: Scientific Evidence
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Q1) In courts that use the ______ Plus test, the admissibility question frequently turns on how accurately and faithfully the testing laboratory followed accepted procedure.
A)Frye
B)Daubert
C)Williams
D)Conners
Q2) The FBI's national DNA database system is known as A)FICA.
B)RFLP.
C)CODIS.
D)NDNADB.
Q3) Prior to the Supreme Court's Daubert decision, federal courts used a _____________ test.
A)general acceptance
B)conditional relevance
C)contingent admissibility
D)consistency and reliability
Q4) In some cases, court may take ________________ of the validity of underlying scientific theories and techniques.
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