Question: Can Officer Lie To Gain Entry Into Your Home? Answer: No! Under the 4th Amendment, searches and seizures inside a home without a warrant are presumptively unreasonable. Physical entry of the...
Are you allowed as a juror to investigate a collision on your own outside of the evidence presented at trial?
Question: Are you allowed as a juror to investigate a collision on your own outside of the evidence presented at trial? Answer: No, the instructions you receive as a juror include the following: You h...
Are Recorded Jail Telephone Calls Admissible Into Evidence?
Question: Are Recorded Jail Telephone Calls Admissible Into Evidence? Answer: Yes, When Consent To The Recording Is Given By Either The Sender Or The Receiver. Does a trial court abuse its discretion ...
Can a 911 call get around the Hearsay Rule?
Question: Can a 911 call get around the Hearsay Rule? Answer: Yes, when it is an excited utterance. Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted and is inadmi...
In an exposure case, can an expert base their opinion on a mere temporal coincidence of the exposure and the plaintiff’s illness
Question: In an exposure case, can an expert base their opinion on a mere temporal coincidence of the exposure and the plaintiff’s illness? Answer: No, see below. When faced with a proffer of expert...
What do you have to prove in order to establish a claim of false imprisonment?
Question: What do you have to prove in order to establish a claim of false imprisonment? Answer: The tort of false imprisonment occurs when there is an (1) unlawful (2) restraint (3) upon one’s free...
How certain does an expert need to be to give an opinion at trial?
Question: How certain does an expert need to be to give an opinion at trial? Answer: It depends. See below. The standard for admissibility of expert witness evidence and the degree of certainty with w...
What is the “Last Clear Chance Doctrine”?
Question: What is the “Last Clear Chance Doctrine”?Answer: It is a legal excuse for the plaintiff where the defendant failed to take advantage of the “chance to avoid” the inci...
Are photos of injuries always admissible in civil cases?
Question: Are photos of injuries always admissible in civil cases?Answer: Usually yes, but a trial court judge may rule that a photo is inadmissible when it is found to be irrelevant, immaterial and/o...
What are the requirements of the Indiana Tort Claims Act (“ITCA”)?
Question: What are the requirements of the Indiana Tort Claims Act (“ITCA”)? Answer: The ITCA provides that a claim against a political subdivision is barred unless the prescribed notice i...