Negligence action by P against D, the owner of an auto tire shop. P claims D’s mechanic failed to tighten the lug nuts on one of the wheels after putting a new tire on P’s car, leading to an accident that injured P. D called W, D’s mechanic, who testified that he tightened every wheel bolt on P’s car. On cross-examination, P asks W, “You were fired from your last job for assaulting a co-worker, right?”  D objects. The court should:

A revenue variance is unfavorable if the revenue in the static planning budget is less than the revenue in the flexible budget.

Sandra and Bill made an oral contract in which Bill agreed to buy 12 different rare baseball cards from Sandra.  The day after the two of them allegedly made the deal, Bill wrote down from memory the 12 different cards he had agreed to purchase as well as the purchase price for each card.  The total purchase price according to his document was $5,280.  The next day, Sandra delivered the cards and demanded $8,560.  Bill protested, saying that was more than the price they had agreed on.  Ultimately the two of them could not agree, and Sandra sued Bill for breach of contract. At trial, Bill testified about the deal he made with Sandra, but he could not remember exactly how much he had agreed to pay for each card.  His attorney asked if he wrote down the prices for the cards.  Bill said he did, and he confirmed that at the time he wrote down the prices, the prices were fresh in his memory, and the record accurately reflected his memory at the time.  His attorney then gave him the document he made the day after the deal was made, and (over Sandra’s objection) Bill read it out to the jury. Bill’s attorney then admitted the document into evidence (again over Sandra’s objection). While the jury was deliberating, they asked to see the document, and (again over Sandra’s objection) the document was sent back into the jury room for the jury to examine.  Did the trial judge make the proper rulings?

Martinez suffered from allergies and went to see Dr. Seltzer, a physician who specialized in treating allergies. Seltzer gave Martinez medicine to treat the allergies, which Martinez took for twenty years, until he died at the age of fifty-four. The drug that Martinez had taken was a steroid called prednisone, and he died from complications caused by long-term steroid use. Martinez’s estate sued Seltzer for negligence, claiming that the doctor told Martinez he was taking an innocuous antihistamine. Seltzer denied that there was any deception, maintaining that he told Martinez that he was taking a steroid with a risk of side effects. At trial, the plaintiff offers evidence that Seltzer purchased more than 1.7 million tablets containing steroids during the four years before Martinez’s death. Defense counsel objects. The court should:

Negligence action by P against D, the owner of a laundromat. P was hurt when the dryer he was loading suddenly started spinning, trapping his hand. P wishes to introduce evidence that after the accident, D fired the company that was servicing its machines and hired a more experienced company. D objects. The court should:

WidgetCo has a patent on a valuable piece of machinery. Widget sued CopyCo for patent infringement. WidgetCo’s Vice President gave a deposition under oath, related to the company’s patent validity. One year later, WidgetCo and CopyCo settled their dispute. One month after that, WidgetCo’s Vice President dies. WidgetCo then sued KnockOff, a different company, for copyright infringement. In this second trial, WidgetCo wants to use their Vice President’s deposition testimony. KnockOff wants to object to its use and admission. What is KnockOff’s best argument?

Rick was convicted of unlawful possession of narcotics at a trial in which he did not testify in his own defense. A week after trial, the judge receives a letter from a juror expressing concern that the jury violated the judge’s instructions because it considered Rick’s refusal to take the stand as an admission of guilt. The judge informs both the prosecutor and defense counsel of the letter; defense counsel files a motion for a new trial based on juror misconduct. May the juror be called by the trial judge to testify on the matter in the letter? 

Same facts as #72.  On behalf of the Caste Iron Grill (defendant), the hospital intake specialist would testify that Greg brought Dorit to the hospital and told the intake specialist that he saw her trip on the sidewalk, in the park, near the plaza, east of the Caste Iron Grill.”  Counsel makes the proper objection.  Should the judge overrule or sustain the objection regarding the intake specialist’s testimony? 

Wendy, a cashier at The Coffee House in Pearlridge, was robbed at gunpoint by a man who demanded that she give him all the money she had in her cash register. Wendy complied and the robber fled with approximately $300.00 in cash.  About an hour after the robbery, Wendy gave a description of the robber to the police. Two hours after the robbery, Wendy met with an artist for the Honolulu Police Department, who drew a composite sketch of the robbery suspect based on Wendy’s description. A week later, Wendy picked appellant’s photograph from a photographic array of about twenty-five to thirty pictures. At trial, Wendy confirmed her prior identifications and pointed out the appellant as the person who robbed her.  Appellant presented an alibi defense through witnesses who testified that he was with them on the day in question. The jury found the appellant guilty. Appellant appealed, arguing that the trial judge erred in admitting the police sketch artist’s composite sketch. What is the strongest basis for appellant’s argument?

Charles Murphy died from an overdose of sleeping pills.  The insurance company claimed that Charles committed suicide and refused to make payment on his life insurance policy.  Charles’s wife argued that the overdose was accidental and sued the insurance company for non-payment. At trial, the insurance company called Dr. Mears, a clinical psychiatrist who was a close friend of Charles.  Dr. Mears never examined Charles as a patient, but she did have lunch with Charles two days before he died.  The insurance company did not attempt to qualify Dr. Mears as an expert.  Mears testified that on the day she saw Charles, “he seemed very depressed; in fact, it appeared to me that he displayed all the symptoms of bipolar affective disorder.”  Charles’s wife objects to this testimony.  How should the court rule?