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Home :: 2010 Competition Files :: 2010 Questions and Answers

    Questions and Answers (updated March 22, 2010)

QQ: Will there be any clarification of exactly who recovered the silverware and cable box?
A: No. Siewert can certainly testify that the items were recovered, and that the police who returned the items reported where they were found.

    Questions and Answers (updated March 15, 2010)
Q:Can witnesses be impeached with the epilogue?
A: A copy of the Epilogue will be given to each presiding judge during the competition. The judges will be instructed to admonish the teams not to stray from that scenario.
Q: There is a line in the "storage closet" in the exhibit of the floor plan of Cutter's house that indicates a wall. If this is the case, then it would be impossible to access this part of the closet. Is that a wall or a misprint? Is it one or two closets?
A: The "storage" is in the bathroom, but the only thing that matters is that the closet door swings out (see the exhibit), and the location of where the JAMBLAS collectible was found is shown on the exhibit.
Q: The date of June, 2009 occurs as Foote's graduation day in the "At the time of trial document" this is a misprint, right?
A: Oops! You are right! Foote expects to graduate in 2010!
Q: Is the lab report concerning the marker stipulated to as far as admissibility (because the prosecution does not have any police witnesses to put forth testimonial evidence regarding the ink match)?
A: Read the stipulations. http://www.abacrimtrial.com/competitions/2010_stipulations.pdf
Q: Is the defendant permitted to deny that the marker used for evidence is, in fact, hers (since it is not readily identifiable)?
A: If the defendant denies, then consider whether to impeach. Look at the stipulations. The prosecution has the opportunity to impeach. See the rules on the time allotments for each side.

    Questions and Answers (dated March 4, 2010)
Q: One of your answers to a question states, "The defense won the motion to suppress." I think you meant to say that the prosecution won the motion to suppress.
A: Oops! You are right. The prosecution won the motion to suppress. The statement is corrected as follows: "The defense prosecution won the motion to suppress."
    Questions and Answers (dated March 2, 2010)
Q: What is Eddie's last name?
A: Of the four witnesses in the trial materials, only Connie Cutter knows that Eddie's last name is Miska - Eddie Miska. Donnie and Pat know only that his name is "Eddie." Foote does not know about Eddie.
Q: In his Statement, Leslie Foote says that the "Cutter$" were at the office on the morning of June 24th. Should it only be Connie Cutter was there?
A: That's what Leslie says.
Q: Do the Cutters have 2 or 3 children?
A: Two.
Q: Is JAMBLAS a rock band or rap trio? (February 3, 2010 newspaper article says they are a rock band, but the March 7, 2007 article says that they are a rap trio.)
A: "JAMBLAS" is the name of the band. The three rap singers killed in the air crash had stage names of "Red Dog," "Blue Dog," and "Top Dog." Their actual names are not important here. The backup band was called "The Four Pups." See the poster on the website.
Q: Has Leslie Foote been reimbursed for the cab fare from the July 4, 2009 party?
A: No.
Q: Was Donnie Thompson fired from the Lake Kennedy Federation?
A: No. Donnie left when things became uncompfortable, or so Donnie says.
Q: Is the defense allowed to make a Motion for Acquittal at the end of the prosecution's case-in-chief and renew it at the end of the defense's case-in-chief?
A: Of course.
Q: Is caselaw allowed to be utilized when arguing motions and objections?
A: Yes, but it's not a good idea. The judges will rule rather promptly, and probably not tolerate any legal argument that lasts more than 10 seconds or so. The judges usually rule and move on.
Q: Will all teams be using a real JAMBLAS doll at competition?
A: Yes. Take a look at the bottom of the photo of the JAMBLAS dog in the materials book.
Q: Is the epilogue undisputed facts by which the witnesses are bound? Can they be impeached with the epilogue?
A: The epilogue is to maintain the status quo so that no witness will be able to create new evidence by saying that something happened recently (such as an admission by the defendant) occurring after the time of the indictment. The presiding judges will be given a copy of the epilogue and instructed accordingly. No new evidence. No newly discovered evidence.
Q: As per the Pre-Trial Order, defense cannot argue suppression of any evidence. How does this affect possible motions in limine for the defense? Can the search warrant not be challenged? Can the marker not be excluded?
A: The defense won the motion to suppress. Deal with it.
Q: Does each side have five minutes to argue for its pretrial motions and five minutes to argue against the opposing side's pretrial motions? Or does each side share the five minutes, essentially getting two and half minutes to argue each way?
A: Each side has a total of five minutes. The presiding judges have some leeway, and will act with prudent discretion.
Q: As per the Pre-Trial Order, a witness may not deny making a quoted statement found within the newspaper articles. Is this true even though the statement may be hearsay and is not sworn statement?
A: Do you really want to ask this question?
Q: Does the prohibition against bringing in new evidence apply to demonstrative exhibits, e.g., can we create a "time line" to illustrate a witness' testimony?
A: That would not be new evidence.
Q: Does the rule on p. 2 of the pre-trial order providing that witnesses may not deny making quoted statements in newspaper articles and police reports apply to statements attributed to witnesses in the epilogue, e.g., "Donnie will claim that in July 2009 Connie Cutter seemed to blame Donnie"?
A: The Epilogue is designed to preserve the status quo as of the time of the Indictment, and Donnie cannot claim to have been fired or to have confronted Cutter, etc. The preseiding judge at the trial will receive a copy of this "Epilogue" so that he or she will know that the advocates and witnesses cannot bring in new recollections or new evidence.
Q: Exactly where in the Siewert home were the DVR, the silverware, and the JAMBLAS collectible located at the time of the burglary?
A: The DVR was next to the TV, the JAMBLAS collectible was on an eye-level shelf in the bookcase, and the silverware was in the cabinet.

    Questions and Answers (dated February 23, 2010)

Q: Several Schools have alternates and coaches who may be attending the competition. Are other students or coaches allowed to observe the trial competition rounds or will the rounds be for participants only?
A: The trials are open to the public. The faculty advisors have always voted to allow the participant-witnesses to sit it. See the corrected Pretrial Order.

    Questions and Answers (dated February 22, 2010)

Q: May the defense move to suppress the evidence?
A: No.

Questions and Answers (dated February 12, 2010)

Q: The fingerprint report is confusing . What does it mean?

A: The fingerprint report reflects the fact that no suspicious prints showed up in the Lake Kennedy Federation's offices when the police lifted prints on June 24. Even so, we modified the report to make it a little clearer.

Q: The police reports have mistakes on them.

A: It happens all the time. Defendant's motion to suppress has been denied.

Q: Both couples have boys named Mike and Matt. Is that right?

A: Yes, Mike and Matt are the names of the boys in both families. It happens.