TITLE SIX — TRIAL
Rule 30. Evidence
Form and Admissibility. In all trials the testimony of witnesses shall be taken orally in open court, unless otherwise provided by these rules. All evidence shall be admitted which is admissible under the statutes of this State or under the rules of evidence applied in this State. The competency of a witness to testify shall be determined in like manner.
Governing Law. The admissibility of evidence is governed by the Ridgeway Rules of Evidence and by the statutes of this State. These rules govern the mode and order in which evidence is received. Where these rules and the Ridgeway Rules of Evidence differ as to admissibility, the Ridgeway Rules of Evidence govern.
Testimony in the Proceeding Communications. Testimony given in the proceeding communications for the case is testimony taken orally in open court within the meaning of this rule. The proceeding communications are the record of that testimony.
Testimony From Another Location. For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony to be taken by contemporaneous transmission from a location other than the proceeding communications, including in-game, provided that every party can receive the testimony as it is given and can examine the witness. The court shall state upon the record the good cause found and the safeguards imposed.
Identity and Control of the Account. A witness shall testify under the username by which the witness appears of record. Before the examination begins, the court shall satisfy itself that the account transmitting the testimony is under the sole control of the witness. Testimony transmitted by a person other than the witness is not testimony of that witness and shall be struck.
Preparation of Testimony. A witness shall not transmit testimony composed in advance of the question to which it responds. Where a witness’s testimony appears to have been prepared, transmitted by another, or coached, any party may examine the witness upon that matter and the court may strike the testimony, may draw an adverse inference, and may proceed under Rule 27(7)(k).
Failure of Transmission. Where testimony is lost or garbled by a failure of the platform, the court shall cause it to be retaken. The court shall state upon the record the extent of the loss.
Competency. The competency of a witness is governed by Rid. R. Evid. 601 and the requirement of personal knowledge by Rid. R. Evid. 602.
Scope of Examination and Cross-Examination. A party may interrogate any unwilling or hostile witness by leading questions. A party may call an adverse party or an officer, director, or managing agent of a public or private corporation or of a partnership or association which is an adverse party, and interrogate him by leading questions and contradict and impeach him in all respects as if he had been called by the adverse party, except by evidence of bad character, and the witness thus called may be contradicted and impeached by or on behalf of the adverse party also, and may be cross-examined by the adverse party only upon the subject matter of his examination in chief. Any other witness may be cross-examined without regard to the scope of his testimony on direct, subject only to the trial judge’s sound discretion.
Declaring a Witness Hostile. A party who wishes to interrogate its own witness by leading questions upon the ground that the witness is unwilling or hostile shall so request, and the court shall rule upon the request before the examination proceeds. The court’s ruling and its ground shall be stated upon the record.
Adverse Party as a Witness. A party may compel the attendance of an adverse party as a witness at trial by subpoena under Rule 32, and may take the deposition of an adverse party upon notice under Rule 23. Where an adverse party who has been so summoned fails to appear, the court may proceed under Rule 32(7), may strike that party’s pleading in whole or in part, or may draw an adverse inference.
Relation to the Rules of Evidence. The scope of cross-examination is governed by Rid. R. Evid. 611(2); the use of leading questions by Rid. R. Evid. 611(3); the scope of redirect and recross-examination by Rid. R. Evid. 611(5); impeachment by Rid. R. Evid. 607 through 610 and 613; and the refreshing of memory by Rid. R. Evid. 612.
Affirmation in Lieu of Oath. Whenever under these rules an oath is required to be taken, a solemn affirmation under the penalties of perjury may be accepted in lieu thereof.
Form. The oath or affirmation shall be in a form designed to impress the duty to testify truthfully upon the conscience of the witness, as Rid. R. Evid. 603 requires. No particular words are necessary.
Who May Administer. An oath or affirmation under these rules may be administered by the presiding judge; by the Clerk of the Superior Court or a deputy clerk, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 131.104; by an attorney authorized to practice law in this State, in open court and in the presence of the presiding judge, as provided by 3 R. Stat. § 151.007; or by any other person authorized by law.
Administration in the Proceeding Communications. The oath is administered by transmitting the form of the oath in the proceeding communications and receiving the witness’s affirmative response there. The exchange is part of the record. Where an oath is administered elsewhere, the person administering it shall state upon the record that it was administered and in what form.
Consequences. A person who testifies falsely under an oath or affirmation so administered is liable to the penalty prescribed for perjury.
Evidence on Motions. When a motion is based on facts not appearing on record the court may hear the matter on affidavits presented by the respective parties, but the court may direct that the matter be heard wholly or partly on oral testimony or depositions.
Form of Affidavits. An affidavit offered under this subdivision shall be made upon the personal knowledge of the affiant, shall set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and shall show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated. It shall be filed through the electronic filing system. The electronic signature transmitted with the filing constitutes the affiant’s signature and declaration under penalty of perjury as provided by Rule 5.2; the electronic filing system does not verify the typed name against the account, and the authenticated account through which the filing was transmitted is the anchor of attribution.
Documents in Support. A document relied upon in an affidavit shall be filed with it, subject to the limit of fifty (50) megabytes for each document.
Live Testimony. The court may take oral testimony upon a motion in the proceeding communications, and where it does so, subdivisions (1) through (3) of this rule and Rule 27(3) through (6) apply.
Summary Judgment; Injunctions. Affidavits upon a motion for summary judgment are governed by Rule 38(4) and (5). Evidence upon an application for a restraining order or a preliminary injunction is governed by Rule 47.
Examination of Witnesses. Unless otherwise permitted by the court, the examination and cross-examination of any witness shall be conducted by one attorney only for each party.
Transmission During an Examination. While a witness is under examination, the only persons who shall transmit into the proceeding communications are the attorney then conducting the examination, the witness, the court, and an attorney stating an objection or a response to an objection as Rule 27(4) permits.
Substitution. The attorney conducting an examination shall not be replaced during that examination except by leave of the court.
Self-Represented Parties. A party who appears without counsel conducts the party’s own examination and is subject to the same limitations, as 3 R. Stat. § 151.008 permits.
Judicial Notice. The court may take judicial notice of an adjudicative fact as Rid. R. Evid. 201 provides and of law as Rid. R. Evid. 202 provides, on its own or at the request of a party. The court shall state upon the record each fact and each matter of law of which it takes notice and shall afford the parties an opportunity to be heard.
Stipulations. The parties may stipulate to a fact, to the content or authenticity of a document, or to the admissibility of an exhibit. A stipulation shall be stated in the proceeding communications or filed through the electronic filing system, and its form and effect are governed by Rid. R. Evid. 611(7). A stipulation as to a matter of law does not bind the court.
Rulings on Evidence; Limited Admissibility. Rulings on evidence, objections, and offers of proof are governed by Rid. R. Evid. 103, and the mechanics of an objection at trial by Rule 27(4). Where evidence is admissible against one party or for one purpose only, the court shall so state and, on request, shall restrict the evidence and instruct the trier of fact accordingly, as Rid. R. Evid. 105 provides.
Depositions and Former Testimony. The use of a deposition in a court proceeding is governed by Rule 25. The admissibility of former testimony as an exception to the rule against hearsay is governed by the Ridgeway Rules of Evidence.
Preservation of the Evidentiary Record.
Composition of the Record. The record of the evidence consists of the documents filed through the electronic filing system, identified by Bates number, and of the proceeding communications, identified by the date and time in Coordinated Universal Time of each message.
Immutability. No person shall edit or delete a message in the proceeding communications, and no filed document may be amended, withdrawn, or replaced. A party who has filed a defective document shall cure it by a corrected refiling bearing its own later filing date.
Spoliation. The destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence, including the deletion of a message, an in-game record, or a platform record, is governed by Rid. R. Evid. 1101, and the court may proceed under Rule 26.3 and Rule 53.