pols 243 evidence and procedures

EVIDENCE AND PROCEDURES

I.

Specific Piece of Evidence:

o KHS Anti-Bullying Policy

Rule(s):

o Rule 401 –Test for Relevant Evidence

o Rule 701 –Opinion Testimony by Lay Witnesses

o Rule 1002 –Requirement of the Original

Explanation:

o Rule 401 applies to this because the KHS Anti-Bullying Policy is relevant

in this case as it is the basis behind whether or not Metro City School

District and King High School had the proper policies in place to prevent

harm done to students. The relevance of the policy dictates that had the

policy not been in place describing in detail the definition of bullying,

what exactly bullying entails according to KHS, and the appropriate

procedures administration must follow then both Metro City School

District and C.J. Pearson would have responsibility and liability to the

damages incurred by Alex Billings. The Anti-Bullying Policy provides

coverage to KHS, proving they had the necessary policies in tact to

provide a safe and educational learning environment.

o Rule 701 applies to the KHS Anti-Bullying Policy because the policy will

be perceived, explained, and discussed in testimony by Brendon/Brenda Li

and Justin/Justine Cook. This testimony will help explain from the policy

writer and someone who helped create the policy, what exactly the

policy’s goal is and the school’s take on it.

o Rule 1002 applies to the KHS Anti-Bullying Policy because an original

copy of the policy is required to prove its contents.

II.


o KHS Cell Phone Policy

Rule(s):




Explanation:

o Rule 401 applies to this case to prove the relevance of KHS’s cell phone

policy which states that cell phones are not to be brought to campus or into

KHS whatsoever. The policy also gives the appropriate disciplinary

actions if the policy is broken. The cell phone policy is relevant here to

prove that a strict policy is in place and faculty have instructions on what

to do if the policy is breached, but because the students were never caught

text messaging on KHS property, it is impossible for the school to have

known the accompanying bullying was taking place, showing the school

district’s lack of liability.

o Rule 701 applies to the KHS cell phone policy because as administration,

Brendon/Brenda Li will give his/her opinion, in testimony, on the school’s

cell phone policy and how it is practiced. Testimony from the person in

charge of the school will help depict how the school handles situations like

this.

o Rule 1002 applies to the KHS Cell Phone Policy because an original copy

of the policy is required to prove its contents.

III.

Specific Piece of Evidence

o MyFace page

Rule(s):


o Rule 403 –Excluding Relevant Evidence

o Rule 701 –Opinion of Testimony by Lay Witnesses


o Rule 1006 –Summaries to Prove Content

Explanation:

o Rule 401 applies to this case in order to establish the MyFace page as

relevant and contributing to the damages incurred by Billings but not as a

result of Pearson alone. The page and the posts made to the page are

necessary to show that the damages incurred by Billings due to the posts

on MyFace do not prove Pearson to be the sole cause of the damage. The

MyFace posts were created and followed by a mix of 300 KHS students,

making it impossible to pinpoint Pearson as liable for all the damage

caused by the posts. Without the specific posts from MyFace, Pearson

would be liable for all of the harassing posts if it could not be proved that

others also took part.

Rule 401 also applies in order to give evidence that

bullying/harassing occurred off of KHS property. According to

Brendon/Brenda Li and Justin/Justine Cook, MyFace is banned

and blocked from all KHS computers, making the creation of these

posts off school property. Without specific examples of bullying

between text messages and social media the bullying would not be

able to be broken down to where it occurred. The MyFace page

and posts are relevant in proving the alleged bullying away from

KHS property taking away the liability of Metro City School

District.

o Rule 403 applies to this case because the MyFace posts needlessly present

cumulative evidence. If the alleged bullying did occur, the text messages

are proof enough of that. The MyFace posts should be excluded from

evidence because MyFace is a social media site that is public and anyone

can make posts to it, meaning Pearson along with 300 other KHS students

posted to it. If the bullying can be proved through direct text messages

sent by Pearson then the MyFace posts should not be used as numerous

students contributed creating confusion in pinpointing liability. If bullying

can be proved from the text messages alone, the MyFace posts are

unnecessary as bullying has already been established. If bullying can be

established through the text messages, it would be a waste of time

analyzing each MyFace post and a waste of time trying to explain the role

the 300 other students had on MyFace.

o Rule 701 applies to the MyFace messages because C.J. Pearson will give

testimony on why he/she created the MyFace page, the types of things

posted to the page, and his/her opinion on how the situation turned out.

o Rule 1002 applies to the MyFace page and posts because an original copy

of the posts are required to prove its content.

o Rule 1006 applies to the MyFace page and posts because a summary of

the posts can be used as evidence instead of using every post. Attempting

to show a jury multiple posts between multiple people could easily

become confusing and take away from the effectiveness. Therefore,

summarizing the posts will have much more success.

IV.


o Email messages between Li and Cook

Rule(s):


o Rule 404 –Character Evidence



Explanation:

o Rule 401 applies to the email messages in order to provide the relevance

between the emails between Principal Li and counselor Cook and the

procedures faculty of KHS must exercise in regards to the KHS Anti-

Bullying Policy. The emails also begin to discuss prior behavior of

Pearson which shows Principal Li’s knowledge of Pearson’s past. The

emails provide proof that the counselor took the correct steps in notifying

Principal Li about the situation and explains the principal’s justification to

why the alleged bullying issue did not concern KHS and Metro City

School District. The emails are relevant to show why the school handled

the conflict in the manner it did. Without the emails between Li and Cook,

the prosecution could attempt to claim KHS faculty and administration as

negligently supervising students in regards to bullying within the school.

o Rule 404 applies to the email messages by prohibiting the prosecution’s

use of Pearson’s past character trait of causing trouble and being a burden

to prove he/she acted the same in this situation in accordance to how

he/she has acted in the past.

o Rule 701 applies to the email messages between Li and Cook because Li

and Cook with both give testimony on the emails. Cook will testify to why

he/she felt the need to email Li about the conflict. Cook will also testify

that he/she followed procedure by letting the principal know. Li will

testify his/her opinion on why the issue would not be further reviewed by

KHS administration. Li will also testify to the advice given to Cook on

how to further address the situation.

o Rule 1002 applies to the email messages between Li and Cook because a

copy of the emails is required to prove its contents.

V.


o PTSD Diagnostic Test Results

Rule(s):


o Rule 608 (a) –A Witness’s Character for Truthfulness or Untruthfulness

o Rule 702 –Testimony by Expert Witnesses

o Rule 703 –Bases of an Expert

o Rule 706 –Court-Appointed Expert Witnesses


Explanation:

o Rule 401 applies to the results of the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Test

in order to prove the relevance of the results that tend to favor the plaintiff

which questions whether the test results are considered accurate or

inaccurate. Without the specific test results, the prosecution could claim

Billings as accurately diagnosed with PTSD costing thousands of dollars

in medical expenses to Pearson and Metro City School District.

o Rule 608 (a) applies to the PTSD test results because the test was

administered by Dr. Rodriguez who works as head of the recruitment

committee at Saint Joseph Academy. Rodriguez’s truthfulness is at

question because his/her job duties consist of bringing new students into

SJA. The positive PTSD test results ultimately resulted in Billings being

enrolled into SJA. The defense is questioning whether the test was

performed accurately by Rodriguez without intent of using the results for

the benefit of SJA. Opinions will be made by Li and Cook in their

testimonies questioning the truthfulness of Rodriguez.

o Rule 702 applies to the PTSD results because Dr. Rodriguez will testify as

an expert witness because he/she has obtained a PhD in psychology and

has expert knowledge on juveniles and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

o Rule 703 applies to the test results of the PTSD test because as an expert,

Rodriguez must give his/her opinion on why and when the test was

administered in accordance to whether other professionals in the same

field would reasonably rely on the same kind of facts in forming a similar

opinion.

o Rule 706 applies to the PTSD test results because if there is sufficient

cause to why a party’s expert witness should not be used then the court

will appoint an expert witness. Because Dr. Rodriguez works for Saint

Joseph Academy, specifically as head of the recruitment committee, the

PTSD test should be administered from an unbiased, uninterested party.

o Rule 1002 applies to the PTSD test results because an original copy of the

test is required to prove its contents.

VI.


o Text Messages

Rule(s):




Explanation:

o Rule 401 applies to the text messages between Billings and Pearson in

order to establish the relevance of when the text messages occurred. The

text messages are being used by the prosecution to prove the alleged

bullying through text message did in fact happen on KHS property during

KHS hours. However, because KHS bans cell phones from being brought

onto KHS campus in their cell phone policy, the text messages show both

parties breaking school policy by bringing and using their cell phones

during class. Billings is just as guilty as Pearson for disobeying the

school’s policy. Pearson cannot be held liable for using his/her cell phone

in school when Billings participated in the same insubordinate behavior.

o Rule 701 applies to the text messages between Billings and Pearson

because Pearson will testify about the text messages. Pearson will testify

on why he/she texted Billings, where the text messaging took place, and

his/her opinion on the situation as a whole.

o Rule 1002 applies to the text messages because a copy of the text

messages is required to prove its contents.

o Rule 1006 applies to the text messages because there are an abundance of

text messages dating from August to November. Having so many text

messages would potentially confuse a jury and take away from the

effectiveness. Summarizing the text messages will be more successful.

pols 243 evidence and procedures

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