Mr. Prosecutor keeps looking through the rule, knowing something in there should save Mr. Manziel from getting a separate trial. “Here it is,” he says to himself. Rule 803(24), Statement Against Interest: “[a] statement which was at the time of its making so far contrary to the declarant’s pecuniary or…
The prosecutor, frustrated that an extra trial might interfere with his upcoming vacation plans, digs through the rules to somehow admit this evidence without allowing Mr. Manziel to force a separate trial. The judge, having similar vacation plans and not wanting to spend county resources empaneling another jury, looks at…
Rules 801 and 803 provide what is non-hearsay and what are exceptions to hearsay. The prosecutor says, “[a]dmission by a party opponent or coconspirator, your honor.” The autograph broker’s lawyer glances down at Rule 801(e)(2) which says, “[a] statement is not hearsay if…The statement is offered against a party and…
First, the right of confrontation would require the ESPN reporter to be on the stand to testify as to his knowledge. So, imagine in a criminal court Johnny Manziel and the autograph broker were being tried for violating NCAA rules or inducing said violations? There they sit with their lawyers…
The rule against hearsay is one of the fundamental rules of the American justice system. It is very similar, although not completely identical, to the rule requiring confrontation of witnesses in a criminal case, i.e., the right to confront one’s accusers. Our nation’s founders were very disturbed at English prosecutions,…
The Texas Rules of Evidence are modeled after the Federal Rules, and Rule 404 is the main rule governing character evidence. 404(a) outlaws evidence of character simply to prove “conformity therewith on a particular occasion,” I.e. you can’t use character evidence to say simply “he did it before, so he…
Character evidence is very important in a criminal case. We want the jury to like our client, and to dislike the person accusing us of an alleged crime or the witness to an alleged crime. However, the rules of evidence generally frown on “trial by ambush,” so there are limits…
Trayvon Martin’s parents are wildly screaming that the privacy rights of their 17 year old “kid” are being invaded by George Zimmerman’s lawyers acquiring Trayvon’s Facebook, Twitter and school records. First of all, what you post on Facebook or Twitter in public has little privacy value. So, be careful what…