How to Get Evidence Thrown out in Court
Challenge a witness’s competency., Identify lay opinion testimony., Move to strike hearsay evidence., Argue the evidence was coerced.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Challenge a witness’s competency.
A witness is only competent to testify about an event if he has personal knowledge of it.Object to any witness who begins testifying about an event without first establishing that he observed it.
As the witness is testifying, you or your lawyer stands up and says, “Objection, your honor” and then states your grounds.
Here, the grounds are “Lack of personal knowledge.” , A lay witness may only testify to what he or she observed.
They are not allowed to provide expert testimony but can only offer opinion that is rationally based on their perception.Acceptable lay opinion includes opinion about size, sound, weight, distance, or manner of conduct.
For example, “I thought she was tall” is acceptable lay opinion testimony.
The lay witness, however, cannot purport to give scientific opinion. “I thought she was criminally insane” is unacceptable lay opinion testimony.
You should move to strike testimony of that nature. , Hearsay is a term for testimony in court from a witness who does not have personal knowledge of the events that they are testifying to; instead, they were told the information by someone else (the “declarant”).
Because a witness must have personal knowledge of an event he testifies to,you can often get hearsay evidence thrown out.
A classic example of hearsay would be if someone testified that they heard something somebody had done, but didn’t see it.
There are several exceptions to the hearsay rule.
Among the more common are an excited utterance, a statement made for purposes of obtaining medical treatment,a dying declaration, and statements against interest.These hearsay statements are allowed because they have circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness.If the declarant is unavailable, then his out-of-court statements may be admitted through hearsay.
If the statement was given during another trial or proceeding under oath, and if the statement was subject to cross examination at that time, then it may be admitted into evidence.Additionally, any statement made by a party is admissible against that party.For example, if you admitted to your neighbor that you were responsible for hitting the plaintiff with your car, then your neighbor can repeat your statement in court. , The Due Process Clause prevents the government from introducing any statement that was made involuntarily.
You can get a confession thrown out if it was made involuntarily.
You should challenge a confession as involuntary before trial.
File a Motion to Suppress.
Among the factors a court will consider are: threats, promises, physical coercion, the length of the interrogation, as well as the defendant’s health, age, and intelligence.The ultimate standard is whether the defendant’s free will was “overborne” by police coercion. -
Step 2: Identify lay opinion testimony.
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Step 3: Move to strike hearsay evidence.
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Step 4: Argue the evidence was coerced.
Detailed Guide
A witness is only competent to testify about an event if he has personal knowledge of it.Object to any witness who begins testifying about an event without first establishing that he observed it.
As the witness is testifying, you or your lawyer stands up and says, “Objection, your honor” and then states your grounds.
Here, the grounds are “Lack of personal knowledge.” , A lay witness may only testify to what he or she observed.
They are not allowed to provide expert testimony but can only offer opinion that is rationally based on their perception.Acceptable lay opinion includes opinion about size, sound, weight, distance, or manner of conduct.
For example, “I thought she was tall” is acceptable lay opinion testimony.
The lay witness, however, cannot purport to give scientific opinion. “I thought she was criminally insane” is unacceptable lay opinion testimony.
You should move to strike testimony of that nature. , Hearsay is a term for testimony in court from a witness who does not have personal knowledge of the events that they are testifying to; instead, they were told the information by someone else (the “declarant”).
Because a witness must have personal knowledge of an event he testifies to,you can often get hearsay evidence thrown out.
A classic example of hearsay would be if someone testified that they heard something somebody had done, but didn’t see it.
There are several exceptions to the hearsay rule.
Among the more common are an excited utterance, a statement made for purposes of obtaining medical treatment,a dying declaration, and statements against interest.These hearsay statements are allowed because they have circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness.If the declarant is unavailable, then his out-of-court statements may be admitted through hearsay.
If the statement was given during another trial or proceeding under oath, and if the statement was subject to cross examination at that time, then it may be admitted into evidence.Additionally, any statement made by a party is admissible against that party.For example, if you admitted to your neighbor that you were responsible for hitting the plaintiff with your car, then your neighbor can repeat your statement in court. , The Due Process Clause prevents the government from introducing any statement that was made involuntarily.
You can get a confession thrown out if it was made involuntarily.
You should challenge a confession as involuntary before trial.
File a Motion to Suppress.
Among the factors a court will consider are: threats, promises, physical coercion, the length of the interrogation, as well as the defendant’s health, age, and intelligence.The ultimate standard is whether the defendant’s free will was “overborne” by police coercion.
About the Author
Michelle Johnson
Experienced content creator specializing in organization guides and tutorials.
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