FINAL EXAMINATION
EVIDENCE
NORMAN
M. GARLAND
SUMMER 2005
1. You have four (4)
hours to
2. This is a closed book exam. Students may not use
any outside materials or confer with
each
other during the exam.
Part I is Multiple Choi
Part II is Essay and is of two and one-half hours duration.
PART II
3. Please be sure to write your examination number in the upper
right hand
4 Please
write on only one side of ea
5 PART
I, whi
If you
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"....45
minutes “D”....15
minutes
Answer the questions that follow according to the Federal Rules of
Evidence (the FRE). If the answer would
be different under the CEC, indicate how and why. 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 anonymous
examination number on each bluebook cover.
Please number your blue books consecutively (i.e., 1 of 5, 2 of 5,
etc.).
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, 2005, at the time that the prosecution projects
the infliction of the injury that caused Vicky's death.
A
(30
Minutes)
Vicky's mother, Maggie Versa, testified that she left home for work at
about 9 a.m. on January 15, 2005, 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, 2005.
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
(45
minutes)
Wilma Winders, Vicky's aunt was called to testify. She first testified that on January 15, 2005
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?
D
(15
Minutes)
On cross examination of Winders, counsel for Dodd asked the following
questions:
Q: Isn't it true that you
have always disliked Derrick?
A: No, that's not so.
Q: Isn't it true that you
told Vicky's grandmother that Derrick is a worthless freeloader?
A: I don't recall having
said that.
Q: Didn't you in fact tell
Vicky's grandmother that you would make certain that Derrick and
Vicky's mother would
never marry?
A: No.
What are the objections to the questions asked by defense counsel? What
are the arguments on the objections? How should the court rule? Why?
END OF EXAM