Does anyone else think that this Evidence question is really subjective? These questions annoy me - I hate that ridiculous scenarios like this are between me and being admitted to practice!
2. (Question ID#4327)
While walking down the street, an intoxicated, homeless woman addressed a jogger and said, “I know you killed your husband.” The jogger stared at the woman for a second, as did a group of onlookers, but said nothing and kept jogging. As the jogger turned a corner, she began to panic; she really had just killed her husband, but had no idea how the homeless woman could have known that. When she reached the end of the block, she turned around, jogged back, and yelled to the woman “No, I didn’t!”
Did the jogger adopt the homeless woman’s statement when she remained silent?
A. Yes, because she did not respond to the woman right away.
B. Yes, because she had just killed her husband.
C. No, because she eventually responded to the woman’s comment.
D. No, because a reasonable person would not have denied the statement.
Incorrect: Answer choice D is correct. An adoptive admission is a statement of another person that a party expressly or impliedly adopts as his own. Silence in response to a statement is considered an adoptive admission if: (i) The person was present and heard and understood the statement; (ii) the person had the ability and opportunity to deny the statement; and (iii) a reasonable person similarly situated would have denied the statement. Here, the jogger was present and had the opportunity to deny the statement; a similarly situated reasonable person, however, would not have felt compelled to answer the woman. Answer choice A is incorrect because a reasonable person would not have felt the need to respond to an intoxicated, homeless woman on the street. Answer choice B is incorrect because whether the statement was true or not is irrelevant to whether it was adopted. The statement would still not be an adoptive admission if a reasonable person would not have felt compelled to respond. Answer choice C is incorrect because the jogger’s later denial did not affect whether she had made an adoptive admission at the time the statement was made.
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encore1101
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Re: Evidence Question
ave083 wrote:Does anyone else think that this Evidence question is really subjective? These questions annoy me - I hate that ridiculous scenarios like this are between me and being admitted to practice!
2. (Question ID#4327)
While walking down the street, an intoxicated, homeless woman addressed a jogger and said, “I know you killed your husband.” The jogger stared at the woman for a second, as did a group of onlookers, but said nothing and kept jogging. As the jogger turned a corner, she began to panic; she really had just killed her husband, but had no idea how the homeless woman could have known that. When she reached the end of the block, she turned around, jogged back, and yelled to the woman “No, I didn’t!”
Did the jogger adopt the homeless woman’s statement when she remained silent?
A. Yes, because she did not respond to the woman right away.
B. Yes, because she had just killed her husband.
C. No, because she eventually responded to the woman’s comment.
D. No, because a reasonable person would not have denied the statement.
Incorrect: Answer choice D is correct. An adoptive admission is a statement of another person that a party expressly or impliedly adopts as his own. Silence in response to a statement is considered an adoptive admission if: (i) The person was present and heard and understood the statement; (ii) the person had the ability and opportunity to deny the statement; and (iii) a reasonable person similarly situated would have denied the statement. Here, the jogger was present and had the opportunity to deny the statement; a similarly situated reasonable person, however, would not have felt compelled to answer the woman. Answer choice A is incorrect because a reasonable person would not have felt the need to respond to an intoxicated, homeless woman on the street. Answer choice B is incorrect because whether the statement was true or not is irrelevant to whether it was adopted. The statement would still not be an adoptive admission if a reasonable person would not have felt compelled to respond. Answer choice C is incorrect because the jogger’s later denial did not affect whether she had made an adoptive admission at the time the statement was made.
Ehh yeah this question sucks :\
