PROBLEM #3

On August 15,Yr-2,Sandra Day, 74, was admitted to the St. Jude Hospital in Waymart, Pa.Day was there for a series of maladies - heart problems, diabetes, early on-set dementia, and fluid in the lungs.She was assigned to the critical care ward.

Starting August 18, Day's nurse on the 8-4 shift was Melanie Weiss.Weiss had the option of using restraints on Day, because Day's multiple conditions led her to throw her body around, risking injury.Weiss did not opt for the restraints, deciding to first observe Day by regularly checking her in the room.During the morning, there was no problem.Day was seated in an upright chair next to her bed.

After lunch on August 18, Weiss returned to the room and Day was on the floor, writhing in an apparent seizure.She was bleeding from the head.Day's daughter Hortense Burke came in, saw her mother, and became overwrought.Sandra Day was rushed to the ER and then to another hospital.In a coma for two weeks, Day then died.

Day's daughter Hortense has brought suit against St. Jude Hospital and Weiss, on behalf of her mother's estate, for wrongful death and medical malpractice.The claim is that (a) Sandra Day should have been in restraints; and (b) even with no restraints, there was a duty to monitor her every 10 minutes, and this duty was breached because Weiss did not keep to that tight a schedule; and the fall caused the come and death.The joint defense of the hospital and Weiss is that the decision to leave Day in the chair was reasonable, especially in light of the regular checks by the nurse; and that the coma was a result not of the fall but of internal bleeding in the brain [cranial bleeding] that existed when the mother entered the hospital.

Trial takes place in December,Yr-0 [the current year].

Question 11

Assume for this question only that Professor Engler is permitted to testify as an expert.May she say "in forming my opinion I relied on a report prepared and issued by the United States Government's surgeon general's office, authored by Dr. Newton Figmore of that office and titled BEST STANDARDS FOR IN-HOSPITAL CARE OF THE ELDERLY, A REPORT TO CONGRESS.The Report states that 'nurses must check patients who are elderly and are hospitalized suffering from heart problems, diabetes, early on-set dementia, and fluid in the lungs.'"

Group of answer choices

a) Engler may rely on the report, but not read it into the record.

b) Engler may read the report into the record, but not for its truth.

c) Engler may rely on the report and read it into the record for its truth.

d) Engler may not rely on the report, as she did not herself participate in its preparation.

Question 12

The best challenge to the surgeon general report is

Group of answer choices

a) Hearsay, no exception

b) 403

c) Lack of trustworthiness in the method of preparation

d) Inability to attack the author [declarant]

Question 13

Assume for this question only that the judge rules that the surgeon general report is admissible against Nurse Weiss and the hospital.Lawyers for the estate discover that the report's author, Dr. Newton Figmore, had given an interview two months before this trial, and stated that "there is no one right way to care for elderly patients with a bundle of symptoms, even when those symptoms include early on-set dementia."That interview was taped on National Public Radio.

Group of answer choices

a) The interview may be played to the jury for impeachment.

b) The interview proves dishonest character.

c) The interview proves that Figmore is not an expert.

d) The interview may be played to the jury for impeachment and for its truth.

Question 14

Lawyers for the Day estate investigated Weiss' background. They found that she was the nurse responsible when an 8 year old child died in the hospital due to being given the wrong medication.This occurred inYr-7.

Group of answer choices

a) The prior act is admissible to prove motive

b) The prior act is admissible to show character, but only if Weiss testifies

c) The prior act is inadmissible as it shows character

d) The prior act is inadmissible except to impeach Weiss' character witnesses.

Question 15

Weiss was married at the time of the death of Day.Her husband, Jarod Weiss, divorced her in July,Yr-1.He will testify that "my wife told me, in AugustYr-2, that she killed someone at work."He will also testify that "my wife was drinking heavily the week before Mrs. Day fell."

Group of answer choices

a) Because of the divorce, Jared may opt in or opt out of testifying.

b) Jared must testify to all of this information.

c) Jared may testify to the drinking, but no more.c) Jared may testify to the drinking, bc) Jared may testify to the drinking, but no more.ut no more.

d) Jared may testify to his then-wife's words, because they are an admission of a party opponent.

Question 16

Assume for this question that Jarod is allowed to testify to at least some of the information in the prior question.Jarod Weiss was convicted of drug selling inYr-6and received a sentence of 3 years probation.

Group of answer choices

a) The conviction is automatically admissible if he testifies

b) The conviction is inadmissible, as drug selling is not a crime of deception

c) The conviction is admissible, subject to a 403 analysis

d) The conviction is inadmissible, as he is not a party in this case

Question 17

To prove that the cranial bleeding was occurring before Ms. Day came to St. Jude's Hospital, the defense seeks to present Day's records from aYr-2hospitalization at Chase Medical Center. The records read "7/29/Yr-2cat scan discloses intermittent cranial blood leakage."

Group of answer choices

a) The record entry is admissible for its truth if authenticated

b) The record entry is admissible only as a basis for an expert's opinion if authenticated

c) The record is inadmissible without the presence of the radiologist who interpreted the cat scan.

d) The record is admissible, but only to show that Ms. Day received a scan; the results of the scan are not admissible.

Question 18

Assume for this question only that the Judge rules the contents of the Chase Medical Center record admissible.

Group of answer choices

a) There must still be a physician or nurse with personal knowledge who must identify the record.

b) Any hospital employee may present the record.

c) With proper certification, there need be no witness to accompany the record.

d) Even if the contents are admissible, rule 403 requires their exclusion if there is no doctor to cross-examine.

Question 19

The Chase Record also contains this entry: "patient reports blood in ear canal on occasion."

Group of answer choices

a) This entry is inadmissible, as the patient is not part of the hospital business.

b) The entry is inadmissible as it is not subject to cross-examination.

c) The entry is admissible as a statement of medical condition.

d) The entry is admissible as a present sense impression.

Question 20

Weiss will testify that "I have handled patients like Ms. Day for years - probably hundreds. For every one, I never used restraints because I was in the room every ten minutes.

Group of answer choices

a) The evidence is inadmissible, as it bolsters credibility.

b) The evidence is admissible.

c) The evidence is inadmissible because there is no corroboration, and thus no reliability.

d) The evidence is inadmissible because it is self-serving.