NO No No NO!!!!
Animals CANNOT TESTIFY. Read the rules. To testify is a human act!
At 05:14 PM 4/8/02 -0400, Stephanie Davidson wrote:
>Aha!! Then it sounds like the question should instead read "What is the
>only animal legally permitted to give testimony in court?"
>
>Very cool.
>
>
>
>On 4/8/02 4:57 PM, "Smith, Virginia" <smithv@chaffe.com> wrote:
>
>> A bloodhound is actually allowed to testify in the courtroom as to the
>> identity of the owner of a scent on a piece of evidence. So, if the
>> evidence left at the crime scene is shown to the bloodhound in the
>> courtroom, the animal is allowed to search for and identify the
>> owner(producer) of the scent, if he/she is present.
>>
>> If the proper foundation has been laid for the chain of custody on the
>> evidence, then the dog's "testimony" is considered to have great weight.
It
>> also impresses the hell out of a jury! <g>
>>
>> Virginia L. Smith
>> Law Librarian
>> Chaffe, McCall, Phillips, Toler & Sarpy
>> 2300 Energy Centre
>> 1100 Poydras Street
>> New Orleans, LA 70163-2300
>> Phone: 504-585-7211
>> FAX: 504-585-7075
>> Email: smithv@chaffe.com
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Stephanie Davidson [mailto:stephanie.davidson@yale.edu]
>> Sent: Monday, April 08, 2002 2:05 PM
>> To: MBARR
>> Cc: 'law-lib@ucdavis.edu'
>> Subject: Re: Admissible Evidence
>>
>>
>> Given that it's a common trivia question, I'll have to suggest that
>> they're intending the answer to be " the bloodhound." But I have no
>> idea where the support for that assertion comes from, since theoretically
>> nearly anything could serve as evidence, so long as it meets the other
>> FRE evidentiary requirements (e.g. there's no bar I know of on "animal
>> evidence" as opposed to "vegetable evidence" or "technological evidence",
>> etc.)
>>
>>
>> -stephanie
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, 8 Apr 2002, MBARR wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> I'm feeling a little dense today, so I'm passing this one to the
>>> list. A fifth grade teacher in our area has included the following
>> question
>>> on a trivia quiz for her students, and I was hoping someone might have an
>>> answer (other than the obvious, human beings):
>>>
>>> WHICH ANIMAL'S EVIDENCE IS ADMISSIBLE IN A COURT OF LAW?
>>>
>>> Please reply off-list to mbarr@cuyahoga.lib.oh.us. Thanks!
>>>
>>> Melissa Barr, Legal Resources Specialist
>>> Cuyahoga County Public Library
>>> 5225 Library Lane
>>> Maple Heights, OH 44137
>>> Tel. (216) 475-5000
>>> mbarr@cuyahoga.lib.oh.us
>>>
>>
>
>
>
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