Business Law Final Exam Part IV Review

EXAM DATE Thursday June 9th (Can finish June 10th if not done) #2 Pencil Same format as parts 1-3

CIVIL LAWSUITS Burden of Proof is based on a Preponderance of Evidence What does this mean? The Plaintiff (Person bringing the case) is more correct than incorrect Plaintiff has the burden of proof “Always”, never defense….

TYPES OF LAWSUITS NEGLIGENCE: Most common civil case, based on careless act Strict Liability: Liable for injury no matter what Intentional: Intended injury of victim

OUR LAWSUIT NEGLIGENCE Argued that the “Careless actions of Hayden Lechler led to the injuries of Sam Spangler Plaintiff does NOT need to prove that the defendant “Intended” to injure the victim, only that their careless actions led to the injury

CASE ORDER Opening Statement- Plaintiff First, Defense next Plaintiff Case- They have burden to prove their case, NOT defense Defense Case- Challenge Plaintiff case Closing Arguments- Defense first, Plaintiff last

WHY PLAINTIFF FIRST, LAST Plaintiff has the burden of proof to win their case, the defense does not need to prove a thing Burden of proof (Based on a Preponderance of Evidence Jury hearing YOUR story first and last is a HUGE advantage….

OPENING STATEMENTS Objective of case (Your Theory) Story of what happened (Your side) Introduction of witnesses Review of law What will be asked for at end of trial

PLAINTIFF CASE Call witness in order they choose Direct examine: Open ended questions, NO leading, witness explains story Evidence: Witness should identify and have personal knowledge of

DEFENSE CROSS EXAMINATION OF PLAINTIFF WITNESSES Cross Examination is a “right” of the defense if the witness is called Leading questions are asked “If” witness does not answer the question, the attorney should object to “Non-Responsive” (Meaning they are not answering questions) All questions should have a YES or NO answer

PLAINTIFF RESTING At the end of the Plaintiff case, they should “rest” their case Resting means they are not calling any more witnesses and they have presented their proof

DEFENSE MOTION At the end of the Plaintiff case, the defense has a right to make a motion to have the case ended Reason made is that the plaintiff failed to present enough proof to continue the trial Usually denied

DEFENSE CASE Call witness in order they choose Direct examine: Open ended questions, NO leading, witness explains story Evidence: Defense may either “Use” or introduce new evidence (To rebut the proof made by the plaintiff)

DEFENSE CROSS EXAMINATION OF PLAINTIFF WITNESSES Cross Examination is a “right” of the plaintiff if the witness is called Leading questions are asked “If” witness does not answer the question, the attorney should object to “Non-Responsive” (Meaning they are not answering questions) All questions should have a YES or NO answer

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “IMPEACH” A WITNESS? “Impeachment” takes place when a witness says something “Contrary” to their statement Contrary means different Impeachment means a witness is lying, creating new facts or trying to make the jury believe something that is not true

CLOSING ARGUMENTS Defense goes first Plaintiff last Both sides are allowed to review the proof presented and make their own conclusions on what the proof means Restitution is asked for by plaintiff Restitution is money damages

JURY Made up of 6-8 people (12 for criminal) Over 50% must agree (4 out of 6 or 5 out of 8) to determine if the defendant will be held liable (Responsible)

JURY OUTCOME “FIRST” a verdict is reached “Next”, the jury determines if a damage will be awarded and how much ($$) Based on (% of fault) Comparative Negligence

OBJECTIONS Judge can sustain (Agree) or over-rule (Disagree) Either sides lawyers may object Objections can be made to question being asked or answer given by a witness

RELEVANCY Relevancy objections are made when a question being asked has nothing to do with the case Purpose is to not waste time on testimony not part of the case “Any” question asked must be made relevant

LEADING Leading means when an attorney is telling a witness the answer to a question “Not” allowed on direct examination “It IS allowed” on cross examination

OPINION Opinion is when a question being asked is asking a witness to draw a conclusion on a set of facts Not allowed unless the witness is an “Expert” “Expert” means the court recognizes them based on foundational questions that were asked…

HEARSAY Hearsay is an “Out of Court Statement made by someone other than the declarant” Means you are asking a witness to testify about something someone else said to them.

SPECULATION Speculation is when a witness concludes something based on a guess or a “What if” question Not allowed because its not based on any data, but rather simply a guess

PURPOSE OF WITNESS Witnesses are someone with knowledge of the facts They know something that is connected to the case at hand Can testify on what they know, not on opinions or conclusions unless they are an expert (Lay witness- non-expert)

PROCEDURE FOR EXHIBITS Marked for Identification first (Court record) Witness can identify what it is, but CANNOT read from a document until its in evidence Objections are made if attempting to move into evidence

APPEALS Appeals of the outcome of the trial can be made by “Either” party in a lawsuit Appeals are based on some issue within the trial (Objection, evidence, rulings, etc..)

DAMAGES Damages are awarded at end of trial (Usually Money) by the jury Defendant must pay what is awarded Damages are meant to “Compensate” the victim NOT punish the defendant

QUESTIONS? Papers not in by Monday will NOT be accepted Final Exam is 5 parts (4 taken in class and Mock Trial 20 points) Books ???