Post by King John on Apr 2, 2006 14:43:32 GMT -6
RULES OF EVIDENCE
Rule 1: General Principles
These rules shall be construed to secure fairness in administration, elimination of unjustifiable expense and delay, and promotion of growth and development of the law of evidence to the end that the truth may be ascertained and proceedings justly determined. Where these rules do not address a particular issue, the Cort may look to, but shall not be bound by, the rules of evidence of the State of Wisconsin (Wisconsin Statutes chapters 901 through 911, hereinafter referred to as the "Wisconsin Rules of Evidence") for more specific guidance consistent with these principles.
Rule 2: Relevancy
(a) "Relevant evidence" means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.
(b) All relevant evidence is admissible, except as otherwise provided by law or by these rules. Evidence, which is not relevant, is not admissible.
(c) Although relevant, the Cort shall exclude evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.
Rule 3: Judicial Notice
(a) The Cort may take judicial notice, whether requested or not, of a fact that is not subject to reasonable dispute in that it is a fact generally known within the territorial jurisdiction of Talossa, or a fact capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.
(b) The Cort shall take judicial notice of the common law and statutes of the Kingdom of Talossa and every province and territory thereof.
(c) The Cort shall also take judicial notice of all properly adopted and publicly available rules, regulations, and orders of national and provincial public agencies.
(d) The law of a jurisdiction other than those referred to in paragraph (a) in this rule shall be an issue for the Cort. A party seeking judicial notice of foreign law shall provide the Cort and the opposing party with the necessary information.
Rule 4: Witnesses
(a) Every person is competent to be a witness except as otherwise provided in these rules.
(b) A witness may not testify to a matter unless evidence is introduced sufficient to support a finding that the witness has personal knowledge of the matter. Evidence to prove personal knowledge may, but need not, consist of the witness' own testimony.
(c) Before testifying, every witness shall be required to declare that the witness will testify truthfully, by oath or affirmation administered in a form calculated to awaken the witness' conscience and impress the witness' mind with the duty to do so.
(d) The Cort shall exercise reasonable control over the mode and order of interrogating witnesses and presenting evidence so as to make the interrogation and presentation effective for the ascertainment of the truth, avoid needless consumption of time, and protect witnesses from harassment or undue embarrassment. The Cort may allow testimony to be taken in person, telephonically, in writing, or electronically, so long as the Cort determines that reasonable guarantees of the identity of the witness exist and the right of any criminal defendant to confront witnesses against him or her is secured.
(e) Cross-examination should be limited to the subject matter of the direct examination and matters affecting the credibility of the witness. The Cort may, in the exercise of discretion, permit inquiry into additional matters as if on direct examination.
(f) Leading questions should not be used on the direct examination of a witness except as may be necessary to develop the witness' testimony. Ordinarily leading questions should be permitted on cross-examination. When a party calls a hostile witness, an adverse party, or a witness identified with an adverse party, interrogation may be by leading questions.
(g) The Cort may, on its own motion or at the suggestion of a party, call witnesses, and all parties are entitled to cross-examine witnesses thus called. The Cort may also interrogate witnesses, whether called by itself or by a party.
Rule 5: Privilege
(a) Except as provided by or inherent or implicit in these rules, the Organic law, or statute, no person has a privilege to:
(b) A client has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications made between the client or the client's representative and the client's lawyer or the lawyer's representative; or between the client's lawyer and the lawyer's representative, with the exceptions contained in the Wisconsin Rules of Evidence.
(c) A patient has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications made or information obtained or disseminated for purposes of diagnosis or treatment of the patient's physical, mental or emotional condition, among the patient, the patient's physician, the patient's registered nurse, or the patient's psychologist, psychiatrist, or psychotherapist, with the exceptions contained in the Wisconsin Rules of Evidence.
(d) A person has a privilege to refuse to testify against his or her spouse, and a person has a privilege to prevent the person's spouse or former spouse from testifying against the person as to any private communication by one to the other made during their marriage, with the exceptions contained in the Wisconsin Rules of Evidence.
(e) A person has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent another from disclosing a confidential communication by the person to a member of the clergy in the member's professional character as a spiritual adviser.
(f) A person has a privilege to refuse to disclose any information the disclosure of which by that person is protected against or prohibited by the law of a foreign state within whose territorial jurisdiction that person resides.
(g) A public entity has a privilege to refuse to disclose official information, and to prevent another from disclosing official information, if the privilege is claimed by a person authorized by the public entity to do so and disclosure is forbidden by law, or disclosure of the information is against the public interest because there is a necessity for preserving the confidentiality of the information that outweighs the necessity for disclosure in the interest of justice.
(h) A person upon whom these rules confer a privilege against disclosure of a confidential matter or communication waives the privilege if he or she voluntarily discloses or consents to disclosure of any significant part of the matter or communication. This paragraph does not apply if the disclosure is itself a privileged communication.
Rule 6: Hearsay
(a) "Hearsay" is a statement offered at trial by one other than the individual who originally made the statement, and offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. A statement is not hearsay, however, if it is offered against a party who made the statement, who authorized the statement, or who manifested an adoption of or belief in the truth of the statement. A statement is also not hearsay if it is a statement of a coconspirator of the party against whom it is offered, made during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy.
(b) Hearsay is generally not admissible except as provided by a well-established hearsay exception, such as those contained in Wisconsin Statutes sections 908.03, 908.04, and 908.045.
Rule 7: Real and Demonstrative Evidence
(a) Nontestimonial evidence, including documents and other real or demonstrative evidence, must be authenticated prior to being admitted into evidence. The requirement of authentication is satisfied by evidence sufficient to support a finding that the evidence offered is in fact what its proponent claims it to be.
(b) Extrinsic evidence of authenticity is not required for public documents under seal of the Kingdom of Talossa or any agency or territorial subdivision thereof, for certified copies of public records, or for other documents, which are deemed self-authenticating under Wisconsin Statutes section 909.02.
(c) A duplicate is admissible to the same extent as an original unless a genuine question is raised as to the authenticity of the original or in the circumstances it would be unfair to admit the duplicate in lieu of the original. No duplicate is inadmissible solely because it is in electronic format.
Rule 1: General Principles
These rules shall be construed to secure fairness in administration, elimination of unjustifiable expense and delay, and promotion of growth and development of the law of evidence to the end that the truth may be ascertained and proceedings justly determined. Where these rules do not address a particular issue, the Cort may look to, but shall not be bound by, the rules of evidence of the State of Wisconsin (Wisconsin Statutes chapters 901 through 911, hereinafter referred to as the "Wisconsin Rules of Evidence") for more specific guidance consistent with these principles.
Rule 2: Relevancy
(a) "Relevant evidence" means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.
(b) All relevant evidence is admissible, except as otherwise provided by law or by these rules. Evidence, which is not relevant, is not admissible.
(c) Although relevant, the Cort shall exclude evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.
Rule 3: Judicial Notice
(a) The Cort may take judicial notice, whether requested or not, of a fact that is not subject to reasonable dispute in that it is a fact generally known within the territorial jurisdiction of Talossa, or a fact capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.
(b) The Cort shall take judicial notice of the common law and statutes of the Kingdom of Talossa and every province and territory thereof.
(c) The Cort shall also take judicial notice of all properly adopted and publicly available rules, regulations, and orders of national and provincial public agencies.
(d) The law of a jurisdiction other than those referred to in paragraph (a) in this rule shall be an issue for the Cort. A party seeking judicial notice of foreign law shall provide the Cort and the opposing party with the necessary information.
Rule 4: Witnesses
(a) Every person is competent to be a witness except as otherwise provided in these rules.
(b) A witness may not testify to a matter unless evidence is introduced sufficient to support a finding that the witness has personal knowledge of the matter. Evidence to prove personal knowledge may, but need not, consist of the witness' own testimony.
(c) Before testifying, every witness shall be required to declare that the witness will testify truthfully, by oath or affirmation administered in a form calculated to awaken the witness' conscience and impress the witness' mind with the duty to do so.
(d) The Cort shall exercise reasonable control over the mode and order of interrogating witnesses and presenting evidence so as to make the interrogation and presentation effective for the ascertainment of the truth, avoid needless consumption of time, and protect witnesses from harassment or undue embarrassment. The Cort may allow testimony to be taken in person, telephonically, in writing, or electronically, so long as the Cort determines that reasonable guarantees of the identity of the witness exist and the right of any criminal defendant to confront witnesses against him or her is secured.
(e) Cross-examination should be limited to the subject matter of the direct examination and matters affecting the credibility of the witness. The Cort may, in the exercise of discretion, permit inquiry into additional matters as if on direct examination.
(f) Leading questions should not be used on the direct examination of a witness except as may be necessary to develop the witness' testimony. Ordinarily leading questions should be permitted on cross-examination. When a party calls a hostile witness, an adverse party, or a witness identified with an adverse party, interrogation may be by leading questions.
(g) The Cort may, on its own motion or at the suggestion of a party, call witnesses, and all parties are entitled to cross-examine witnesses thus called. The Cort may also interrogate witnesses, whether called by itself or by a party.
Rule 5: Privilege
(a) Except as provided by or inherent or implicit in these rules, the Organic law, or statute, no person has a privilege to:
(1) Refuse to be a witness; or
(2) Refuse to disclose any matter; or
(3) Refuse to produce any object or writing; or
(4) Prevent another from being a witness or disclosing any matter or producing any object or writing.
(b) A client has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications made between the client or the client's representative and the client's lawyer or the lawyer's representative; or between the client's lawyer and the lawyer's representative, with the exceptions contained in the Wisconsin Rules of Evidence.
(c) A patient has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications made or information obtained or disseminated for purposes of diagnosis or treatment of the patient's physical, mental or emotional condition, among the patient, the patient's physician, the patient's registered nurse, or the patient's psychologist, psychiatrist, or psychotherapist, with the exceptions contained in the Wisconsin Rules of Evidence.
(d) A person has a privilege to refuse to testify against his or her spouse, and a person has a privilege to prevent the person's spouse or former spouse from testifying against the person as to any private communication by one to the other made during their marriage, with the exceptions contained in the Wisconsin Rules of Evidence.
(e) A person has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent another from disclosing a confidential communication by the person to a member of the clergy in the member's professional character as a spiritual adviser.
(f) A person has a privilege to refuse to disclose any information the disclosure of which by that person is protected against or prohibited by the law of a foreign state within whose territorial jurisdiction that person resides.
(g) A public entity has a privilege to refuse to disclose official information, and to prevent another from disclosing official information, if the privilege is claimed by a person authorized by the public entity to do so and disclosure is forbidden by law, or disclosure of the information is against the public interest because there is a necessity for preserving the confidentiality of the information that outweighs the necessity for disclosure in the interest of justice.
(h) A person upon whom these rules confer a privilege against disclosure of a confidential matter or communication waives the privilege if he or she voluntarily discloses or consents to disclosure of any significant part of the matter or communication. This paragraph does not apply if the disclosure is itself a privileged communication.
Rule 6: Hearsay
(a) "Hearsay" is a statement offered at trial by one other than the individual who originally made the statement, and offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. A statement is not hearsay, however, if it is offered against a party who made the statement, who authorized the statement, or who manifested an adoption of or belief in the truth of the statement. A statement is also not hearsay if it is a statement of a coconspirator of the party against whom it is offered, made during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy.
(b) Hearsay is generally not admissible except as provided by a well-established hearsay exception, such as those contained in Wisconsin Statutes sections 908.03, 908.04, and 908.045.
Rule 7: Real and Demonstrative Evidence
(a) Nontestimonial evidence, including documents and other real or demonstrative evidence, must be authenticated prior to being admitted into evidence. The requirement of authentication is satisfied by evidence sufficient to support a finding that the evidence offered is in fact what its proponent claims it to be.
(b) Extrinsic evidence of authenticity is not required for public documents under seal of the Kingdom of Talossa or any agency or territorial subdivision thereof, for certified copies of public records, or for other documents, which are deemed self-authenticating under Wisconsin Statutes section 909.02.
(c) A duplicate is admissible to the same extent as an original unless a genuine question is raised as to the authenticity of the original or in the circumstances it would be unfair to admit the duplicate in lieu of the original. No duplicate is inadmissible solely because it is in electronic format.