1. You have three (3) hours to complete this examination. Part I is Multiple Choice and is of one and one-half hours duration. Part II is Essay and is of one and one-half hours duration.

2. This examination is closed book.

3. This examination consists of two parts: PART I contains 60 multiple choice questions, and PART II consists of essay questions.

4. PART I contains 60 questions. The examination grade will be based on the combined raw score of PARTS I and II. Each part will count 50% of the final grade. PART I you must complete your answers on the separate “ParSCORE TEST FORM” using pen or pencil and following the instructions on that form. If you change your answer, place a clear X through the wrong answer and mark the correct answer. A machine will score the exam and any ambiguities will be counted as a wrong answer. Each question is followed by two to five choices. You are to choose the best of the stated alternatives. Answer all questions according to the prevailing view under the Federal Rules of Evidence and related decisional law. YOU MUST COMPLETE PART I OF THE EXAMINATION WITHIN THE FIRST ONE AND ONE-HALF HOURS. AT THE END OF THE FIRST ONE AND ONE-HALF HOURS, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO RETURN THE MULTIPLE CHOICE SECTION OF THE EXAM TO THE EXAM ENVELOPE. If you conclude PART I before the expiration of the first one and one-half hours, you MAY begin PART II.

5. Additional instructions for PART II of the examination are attached to the front of PART II. Please write your essay responses in the blue books provided. Please write clearly. Write on every other line and every other page to permit instructor comments. Please use ink, do not use pencil. You may use a computer/ExamSoft to take the essay portion of this examination. If you are using a computer/ExamSoft, double space and leave room for adequate margins.

6. Write your exam number on your exam envelope. Put your correct class section and student exam # at the top of this page, each page of questions, each blue book, and the “ParSCORE TEST FORM.” Do not use your name, student ID number or Social Security Number on any exam materials.

7. At the conclusion of the exam, return all test materials, including blue books, ParScore answer sheet, scratch paper, and this exam packet to the envelope and submit it to the proctor. DO NOT seal the envelope. Students who do not return all exam materials at the end of the exam may not be graded.

PART II -ESSAY

If you conclude PART I before the expiration of the first one and one-half hours, you MAY begin PART II.

The following essay questions are to be answered in your blue books and constitute the remaining two and one-half hours of the examination for the course. Be sure to read the entire examination before beginning to write. Time allocations for each subdivision are recommended before each sub-question, and are repeated here for your convenience:

A: 30 minutes

B: 30 minutes

C: 30 minutes

Answer the questions that follow according to the Federal Rules of Evidence (the FRE). It is not necessary for you to refer to any Rule by number or any case by name; however, you may do so if you wish to communicate a particular complex of legal ideas by shorthand reference and if you are certain you are doing so with clarity. Be sure you have given reasons to support your conclusions.

You must complete this examination for full credit. Please write legibly on one side of the page only, every other line and check to see that you have put your examination number on each bluebook cover. Please number your blue books consecutively (i.e., 1 of 5, 2 of 5, etc.).

Please note, hearsay spelled as h-e-r-e-s-a-y is heresy, and shall be punished as such!

Derrick Dodd is on trial for the murder of three-year-old Vicky Versa and of child abuse resulting in death. The trial is in a jurisdiction governed by the Federal Rules of Evidence and bound by the federal decisions interpreting them. Dodd was the live-in boyfriend of the victim's mother and was regularly, albeit not exclusively, the daytime caretaker of Vicky. Dodd was the sole caretaker of Vicky, her older brother Nick, age 5, and her eighteen-month old cousin Wendy on January 15, 2004, at the time that the prosecution projects the infliction of the injury that caused Vicky’s death.

A.
(30 Minutes)

Vicky’s mother testified that she left home for work at about 9 a.m. on January 15, 2004, at which time Dodd was with Vicky and Vicky’s maternal grandfather. Vicky’s maternal grandfather previously testified that he was with Vicky and Dodd in the home until about 11 a.m., at which time he left for the day. Vicky’s mother further testified that Dodd called her at noon to report that Vicky was vomiting.

Vicky’s mother then testified as follows:

Q: Did you ever notice anything about Vicky in the months before her death?
A: Yes, I began noticing bruises on Vicky's body over a period of four or five months before she died.
Q: Did you ever report to anyone anything about the cause of those bruises?
A: Yes.
Q: To whom did you make such report?
A: To the police.
Q: And what did you report?
A: Well, that Derrick was toilet training Vicky by spanking her so hard that it left bruises on her buttocks.
Q: Did you report anything further?
A: Yes, that Derrick ignored my complaint that he was hitting Vicky too hard. I had heard Vicky cry out in pain with "shrill shrieks" when Vicky was alone in the bathroom with Derrick.
Q: Did you report that you ever observed Mr. Dodd directly when he hurt Vicky?
A: Yes, I reported that I saw him once injure Vicky by "whacking" her on the head.

What are the objections to this testimony? What are the arguments on the objections? How should the court rule? Why?

B.
(30 Minutes)

The medical examiner, a medical doctor and board certified pathologist, was called to testify to the cause and time of death of Vicky. After the prosecutor laid the proper foundation qualifying the medical examiner as an expert doctor specializing in pathology, the doctor testified as follows:

Q: What was the immediate cause of death of the child?
A: Multiple blunt force injuries.
Q: Did you determine the time of death?
A: Well, the time of death, I determined, was between 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on January 15, 2004.
Q: Was that the same as the time the fatal injuries had been inflicted?
A: No, the state of Vicky's body indicated that the fatal injuries had been inflicted at some time between 4:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. that day.
Q: Were you able to narrow the time of the infliction of the injury down to be more specific?
A: Yes, since I learned that the onset of vomiting by Vicky was at about noon, and since I observed during the autopsy that she suffered a severed bowel, I concluded that the vomiting would have followed shortly after the infliction of a tremendous amount of force to the abdomen–from this I further pinpointed the likely timing of the injury to shortly before noon.
Q: Did you reach a conclusion about who had inflicted these injuries?
A: Yes.
Q: What was that conclusion?
A: I concluded that the injuries were likely inflicted by Derrick Dodd.
Q: On what did you base that conclusion?
A: Well, moving downward from the earliest end of the time range, the presence in the home of Vicky's mother until she went to work at 9 a.m., and the presence of Vicky's maternal grandfather until about 11 a.m., I inferred that the ultimately fatal injuries were not inflicted before 11 a.m. Inferentially, the critical time period may well have been between 11 a.m. and noon. Hence, it is my opinion that the fatal blows were struck during that time frame and since the only person present with the child at that time who could have inflicted such an injury was Dodd, I conclude that he did it.

What are the objections to the medical examiner’s opinion? What are the arguments on the objections? How should the court rule? Why?

C.
(30 minutes)

Wilma Winders, Vicky's aunt was called to testify. She first testified that on January 15, 2004 she dropped off her eighteen-month-old daughter, Wendy, Vicky's cousin, to stay with Vicky while she, the mother, was attending a wedding. Wendy arrived at between 11:15 and 11:30 a.m. She further testified that at home were Vicky and Vicky's five-year-old brother, Nick and attending the three children was Dodd. Wilma Winders testified that she picked Wendy up between 4:15 and 4:30 p.m.

Winders then testified as follows:

Q. Ma'am, have you noticed any behavioral changes in Wendy since Saturday January 15th?
A. Yes, I have.
Q. And would you describe just the behavioral changes for the jury, please?
A. Wendy has become-
THE COURT: Keep your voice up.
A. Wendy is very petrified of any strangers introduced to her or if there is any form of loud noise, yelling, anything, she has gotten so upset that she's broken out in hives. She has nightmares and screaming fits.
Q. Have you ever seen any of these behaviors prior to January 15th?
A. No.
Q. Have you ever discussed this case with her?
A. No, I have not.
Q. And has she ever--has she ever asked you any questions about it?
A. She asked me, looking terrified and in a shaky voice: “Is Derrick going to get me?”

What are the objections to this testimony? What are the arguments on the objections? How should the court rule? Why?

END OF EXAMINATION