The exam is based on the fictional case of Linda Thompson vs. Lisa-Marie Presley and the First Memphis Bank and Trust Company. Linda Thompson was
Elvis' live-in girlfriend in 1977 when he allegedly died. Lisa-Marie Presley is Elvis' only child, who inherited most of Elvis' estate under his will. Under the
terms of the will, the bulk of the estate was put in trust supervised by the First Memphis Bank. Lisa-Marie is due to receive the bulk of the estate soon. She is a
member of the cult Church of Scientology. Linda Thompson has sued Lisa-Marie and the Bank to prevent any disbursement from the trust, alleging that Elvis
is still alive. The defendants claim Elvis is dead. No statutes control the outcome. Disregard any Rule 11 problems with this lawsuit.
Cast of Characters:
Elvis Presley: the King
Lisa-Marie Presley: Elvis' daughter
Priscilla Presley: Elvis' former wife, divorced
Linda Thompson: Elvis' girlfriend in 1977 (later married Olympic decathlete Bruce Jenner)
Verena Deuble: 87-year-old woman, claims to be an old friend of Elvis'
Peter Richter: professional Elvisologist.
Martha Camacho: trust officer, First Memphis Bank
Irwin Fisher: Elvis' attorney
2) Please write your answers on this examination in the spaces provided (on the final, you will have a space of approximately 3 inches in which you can write about 6 sentences maximum). You may not use additional space except to compensate for material you crossed out. If you cross out an answer and write a new one, please put the answer on the back of the preceding page. No bluebooks are to be used, except as scratch paper.
3) Throughout the exam, assume the case is being tried to a jury. Base your answers on the Federal Rules of Evidence (attached to the end of this exam) and any other general legal principles of evidence you can remember. Ignore any tactical considerations.
4) Time limit: 3.5 hours (the real exam will be about 2.5 hours and ask fewer questions - this is for review, so it covers more ground).
5) The exam consists of a transcript of an imaginary trial. At various times the transcript is interrupted and you are asked to make or respond to an objection.
You should read the question carefully, and answer it in a short, succinct, specific way, explaining your rationale. Objections and responses should be phrased
as if you were speaking to the judge. All answers should be briefly explained, whether or not the question explicitly calls for an explanation. Following each
interruption, the judge will make a ruling. You should draw no inference from the rulings -- the judge has to make some kind of ruling in order for the trial to
continue, and will often will rule incorrectly.
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COURT: The plaintiff may call its first witness.
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: Thank you, your honor. We call Verena Deuble. She is a German citizen, your honor.
BAILIFF: Do you speak and understand English?
WITNESS: Yes, I am fluent in English.
BAILIFF: Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth in this matter?
WITNESS: I do.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Your honor, we object to any further testimony by this witness. We believe she is mentally incompetent to be a witness. She is
almost 90 years old and believes that Elvis is sending her letters.
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1. How should plaintiff respond to this objection?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the right ruling).
BAILIFF: State your name and address for the record, please.
WITNESS: Verena Deuble. I live in Bad Nauheim, Germany.
Q: Ms. Deuble, how old are you?
A: 87 or 88; I'm not sure.
Q: Were you recently given an award by the Israeli government for saving the lives of a Jewish family in the Second World War?
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2. What objection(s) could the defense attorney make?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the correct ruling).
A: Yes, I was.
Q: Are you acquainted with Elvis Presley?
A: Yes I am. I met him when he was in the U.S. Army. He was stationed near my home in 1958. The food on the army base was so bad, that he and some of
his buddies would come over to my house whenever they could get away, and I would fix them sandwiches. He was a nice young man with very good manners.
Q: Did you receive a letter addressed to you that was postmarked October 11, 1988, from Memphis, Tennessee?
A: Yes, I did. It was from Elvis Presley.
Q: Handing you plaintiff's exhibit one, is this Elvis' signature?
A: Yes it is.
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: We offer this letter into evidence.
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5. Suppose plaintiff responds that the letter is the statement of an opposing party. What reply can the defense attorney make?
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6. Suppose plaintiff responds that the letter is a declaration against interest. What reply can the defense attorney make?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the correct ruling).
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: No further questions. We call Peter Richter.
BAILIFF: Do you swear to tell the truth?
WITNESS: I do.
BAILIFF: State your name and address.
WITNESS: Peter Richter, 3412 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles.
Q: What is your occupation.
A: I am a freelance journalist who specializes in Elvis Presley. I have read every book written about him. I have one of the largest collections of Elvis
memorabilia in the United States. Since his alleged death in 1977, I have investigated and written about reports that he is still alive. For over ten years, this has
been my full-time occupation, and I have had over 200 of my articles published. I have talked to everyone I can locate who thinks they have seen or heard from
Elvis since his death. Let me tell you, I have talked to a number of real fruitcakes out there, who think Elvis spoke to them from cereal boxes, or they met him
when they were taken aboard a UFO, and so forth. It is often hard to distinguish the crazy people from those who really have seen or communicated with Elvis
Presley. I guess you could say I am an Elvisologist.
Q: Handing you plaintiff's exhibit one, the letter allegedly from Elvis, in your opinion as an expert on Elvis Presley, do you think it is genuine?
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7. What objection(s) could the defense make?
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8. If defendant objects that the witness lacks personal knowledge, how should plaintiff respond?
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COURT: Overruled. (not necessarily the correct ruling).
A: I believe it is genuine.
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: No further questions.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Mr. Richter, this Deuble woman is not the first to come forward with a letter allegedly written by a living Elvis, is she?
A: No.
Q: In fact, you have seen a number of such letters and investigated their authenticity, haven't you?
A: Yes. I have investigated about 25 such claims. In most cases, the letters turn out to be forgeries.
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9. What objection(s) can the plaintiff's attorney make?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the correct ruling).
A: Yes.
Q: Mr. Richter, how did you find out about this particular letter?
A: I read about it in a German newspaper.
Q: Did you visit Verena Deuble?
A: Yes. She gave me the letter, and asked for my help in convincing the world that it was genuine.
Q: Supermarket tabloids will buy stories suggesting that Elvis is still alive, won't they?
A: Yes.
Q: Will they buy stories that Elvis is still dead?
A: No.
Q: In the case of the Deuble letter, didn't you sell a story to the Weekly World News for $5,000, in which you suggested the letter was genuine?
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: I object. This is confusing the issues and a waste of time.
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10. What response(s) can the defense attorney make to this objection?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the correct ruling).
A: Yes I did.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No further questions.
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: We call Priscilla Presley.
BAILIFF: Do you swear to tell the truth?
WITNESS: I do.
Q: Are you Priscilla Presley, the actress and former wife of Elvis Presley?
A: Yes.
Q: Were you married to him in 1977 when he allegedly died?
A: No; we were divorced.
Q: Since 1977, have you received any letters or telephone calls from Elvis?
A: On the advice of my attorney and my theatrical agent, I am not going to answer that question. I think this whole proceeding is a farce and a sick attempt to
capitalize on Elvis' memory. If I were to testify that I had been receiving communications from beyond the grave, my career would be ruined. Look what
happened to Shirley MacLaine.
Q: Handing you plaintiff's exhibit two, is this a statement that you prepared for me at my request, on September 12, 1988, in which I asked you about
communications you received from Elvis?
A: Yes.
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: We offer exhibit two into evidence as the prior inconsistent statement of this witness.
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11. What objection(s) could the defense attorney make?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the correct ruling).
PLAINTIFF: Nothing further
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You were originally named a co-defendant, weren't you?
A: Yes.
Q: And did you settle out of court with Ms. Thompson?
PLAINTIFF: Objection under Rule 408, which prohibits evidence of offers to settle.
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12. What response can the defense attorney make?
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COURT: Sustained.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No further questions.
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: We call Martha Camacho.
BAILIFF: Do you swear to tell the truth?
WITNESS: I do.
Q: State your name and address.
A: Martha Camacho. 455 Tulip Lane, Memphis.
Q: Are you the trust officer at the First Memphis Bank who supervises that Presley trust?
A: Yes. That has been my responsibility for ten years. Before that, I was a trust attorney for the bank.
Q: Have you been continuously in charge of that account since Elvis Presley was reported to have died?
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13. What objection(s) can the defense attorney make to this question? [This is a hard question]
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14. If the defense objects that "reports of Elvis' death" would be hearsay, what response can plaintiff make?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the correct ruling).
A: Yes.
Q: Under the terms of the trust agreement, when does Lisa-Marie Presley receive the bulk of the estate of Elvis Presley?
A: I do not know.
Q: Under the terms of the trust agreement, must Elvis be dead for the money to pass to Lisa-Marie?
A: I do not know.
Q: You are the trust officer of the bank, aren't you?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you know anything about the terms of the Presley trust?
A: Not off the top of my head. The bank is trustee for over 1,000 trusts. There are a dozen forms filled out for every one of those trusts. We employ a staff of
four whose only job is to fill out more documents for every transaction involving any of these 1000 trusts. In total, that's over 20,000 documents relating to
trusts. I cannot be expected to recall the contents of each one.
Q: Did you happen to bring the records of the Presley trust with you today?
A: Yes. They amount to 44 pages.
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: We move into evidence the records of the Presley trust, as plaintiff's exhibit 3.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I object. The records are hearsay.
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15. What response(s) can plaintiff's attorney make to this objection?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the correct ruling).
Q: As trust attorney for the Memphis Bank, were you present in November 1976 when the final trust agreement was signed?
A: Yes.
Q: Was Elvis Presley also present?
A: Yes.
Q: For how long were you and Elvis in the same room?
A: About one hour.
Q: Do you recall his appearance at that meeting?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he look like he was concerned about his estate, or did he look like he was trying to deceive someone?
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16. What objection(s) can the defense attorney make?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the correct ruling).
A: He looked deceptive. He also looked drugged.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I object. The last answer about looking "drugged" is an irrelevant opinion.
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17A. What response(s) can plaintiff's attorney make to the opinion rule objection?
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17B. What response(s) can plaintiff's attorney make to the relevance objection?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the correct ruling).
Q: Now, directing your attention to June 5, 1981, at about 3:30 pm, were you speaking to Priscilla Presley on the telephone at that time?
A: Yes. Lisa-Marie was still a minor then, and Priscilla was discussing some matters relating to the trust with me.
Q: Did the entire conversation concern the trust?
A: No. Suddenly she said, "Martha, I'm going to have to call you back. There's a strange man out in the yard, staring at the house. I'm going to call the police.
No wait, he looks familiar. Never mind. He's leaving. That sure shook me up, for a moment there he looked just like Elvis."
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I object and move to strike. Priscilla's statement is hearsay.
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18. What response(s) can plaintiff's attorney make?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the correct ruling).
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: No further questions.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: So you think Elvis was being deceptive when he executed the trust agreement?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you think he might have been planning to fake his own death?
A: Yes.
Q: If he is still alive, then Lisa-Marie does not get the proceeds of the trust, isn't that right?
A: Yes.
Q: So if the plaintiff wins this case, won't you and your bank get to keep all this money?
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: I object; irrelevant.
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19. What response(s) can the defense attorney make to this objection?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the correct ruling).
A: The bank would get to keep it, yes, but only until Elvis showed up.
Q: Let's change the subject. Are you acquainted with an attorney named Irwin Fisher?
A: Yes. He is a prominent trusts and estates attorney in town. I had business dealings with him many times. He handled the Elvis Presley trust on behalf of Elvis.
Q: Was he the one who brought you Elvis' death certificate?
A: Yes.
Q: And he told you to activate the trust?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he usually tell you to activate trusts while their creators were still alive?
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20. What objection(s) other than hearsay can plaintiff's attorney make to this question?
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21. If plaintiff objected on hearsay grounds, what response(s) could the defense make?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the correct ruling).
Q: Let me change the subject. On March 5, 1991, in the District Court of Monroe County, did you plead guilty to the crime of shoplifting?
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22. What objection(s) could plaintiff's attorney make?
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COURT: Overruled (not necessarily the correct ruling).
A: Yes, I was.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No further questions.
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: Because of the publicity surrounding this lawsuit, has your bank changed its practices with respect to death certificates?
A: I'm not sure what you mean.
Q: Isn't it true that you now require an affidavit from the attending physician attesting to the death certificate?
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23. What objection(s) could the defense attorney make?
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COURT: Sustained.
Q: When Mr. Fisher gave you the death certificate, did he say anything about his final meeting with Elvis?
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Objection. Whatever was said or done at a meeting between Elvis and his attorney would fall within the attorney-client privilege.
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24. What response(s) can plaintiff's attorney make to this objection?
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* * END OF EXAMINATION * *