Preliminary Sections

• Author: Gordon P. Cleary
• Pages: 1-14

HIGHLIGHTS

This handy courtroom guide will keep you from missing any of the elements required to lay a proper

foundation and alert you to when your opponent has. The latest edition features 28 sections that have been

updated with more thanr 60 recent significant federal and state cases.

Some of the topics covered include –

Witness Competency and Credibility

• Competency of child victims as witnesses in sexual assault case.

• Impeachment by:

o Evidence of prior bad acts.

o Prior inconsistent statements.

• Rehabilitation of witnesses by prior consistent statements

Opinion Evidence

• Lay opinion on:

o Intoxication.

o Value of one’s own property.

o Cause of medical symptoms or injuries.

• Opinion of police investigator as to existence of a conspiracy.

Authentication

• Emails, text messages, Facebook pages, and YouTube videos.

• Computer generated records vs. computer stored information.

• Failure to lay a proper foundation for email as ineffective assistance of counsel.

Hearsay and Hearsay Exceptions

• Statements admitted to show effect on hearer.

• Confrontation Clause: testimonial vs. non-testimonial statements in ongoing emergencies.

• Adoptive, vicarious, and judicial admissions.

• Declarations:

o To show declarant’s state of mind.

o Made for purposes of medical diagnosis.

• Email as a business record.

• Excited utterances:

o Text messages.

o 12 minute 911 call from victim.

o Statement made 4 minutes after shooting.

And more!

Trial Evidence Foundations

September 2016 Update

by Gordon Cleary