TITLE ONE — GENERAL PROVISIONS
Rule 101. Title; Scope
Title. These rules may be known and cited as the Ridgeway Rules of Evidence. (Rid. R. Evid.) A single provision is cited by rule number and subdivision, in the form Rid. R. Evid. 106(2)(a), and within these rules as Rule 106(2)(a).
Scope. These rules shall summarize the law of evidence applied in proceedings in the courts of the State of Ridgeway as set forth in state statutes, common law, and rules of the court, and as required by the Constitution of the State of Ridgeway.
Waiver. These rules serve in an advisory capacity and as such may be waived in proceedings at the direction of the presiding judge.
Manner. A direction under this subdivision shall be declared by the court on the record, in the proceeding communications of the case, before the evidence affected by it is received, and shall identify the provision waived and the extent of the waiver.
Extent. The court may direct a waiver as to a single item of evidence, a single witness, a single hearing, a class of evidence, or the whole of a proceeding.
Limits. A direction under this subdivision shall not:
abridge, enlarge, or modify a substantive right, which 3 R. Stat. § 121.106(b) forbids;
dispense with a requirement imposed by the Constitution of the State of Ridgeway or by statute, including the authentication required before the administrative court by 3 R. Stat. § 141.106 and the limitation upon hearsay imposed there by 3 R. Stat. § 141.107;
waive a privilege on behalf of its holder, the waiver of a privilege being governed exclusively by Rule 509;
relieve the State of its burden to prove each element of an offense beyond a reasonable doubt, or permit an inference or presumption forbidden by Rule 302; or
permit the receipt of evidence whose admission a statute forbids.
Effect. A direction under this subdivision binds the proceeding in which it is declared and no other. It does not bind another judge, a subsequent proceeding in the same case, or a retrial.
Objection Preserved. A party may object to a direction under this subdivision. An objection so made, stating the specific ground, preserves a claim of error as to every item of evidence thereafter received within the scope of the direction, and the party need not object again to each such item.
Proceedings to Which These Rules Apply. Except as Rule 101(5) provides, these rules apply to:
every civil and criminal proceeding in the Superior Court of the State of Ridgeway;
every proceeding before a magistrate judge;
every proceeding in the Supreme Court of the State of Ridgeway, to the extent the Ridgeway Rules of the Supreme Court do not otherwise provide;
every proceeding in the Administrative Court of the State of Ridgeway, as modified by Rule 101(8) and as 3 R. Stat. § 141.103 provides;
a hearing upon a motion at which testimony is taken or exhibits are received;
the taking of a deposition, to the extent the Ridgeway Rules of Civil Procedure provide; and
a proceeding for contempt, other than a contempt punished summarily.
Proceedings to Which These Rules Do Not Apply. These rules, other than those governing privilege, do not apply to:
the court’s determination of a preliminary question of fact under Rule 104(1);
proceedings before a grand jury, which 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.101 through 131.110 govern; an indictment shall not be dismissed on the ground that the evidence before the grand jury consisted in whole or in part of hearsay or of the record of a probable cause hearing, as Rid. R. Crim. P. 4(3) provides, and the competency of a grand juror as a witness is governed by 6 R. Stat. § 131.109 and by Rule 606;
a first appearance under 6 R. Stat. § 131.204 and the determination of probable cause for detention made at it under Rid. R. Crim. P. 3.1, at which the judicial officer considers only the affidavit submitted by the arresting officer;
a preliminary hearing under 6 R. Stat. § 131.204(b) and Rid. R. Crim. P. 7.2, the rule against hearsay not applying to preliminary hearings as 6 R. Stat. § 131.204(b)(c)(1)(B) provides, and the court being obliged to view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution and to draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the prosecution as 6 R. Stat. § 131.204(b)(c)(1)(A) requires;
an application for, or the issuance of, an arrest warrant under 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.001 and 131.002, a search warrant under 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.009 through 131.013, or a bench warrant, and the return and inventory upon a search warrant under 6 R. Stat. § 131.016;
the sentencing phase of a criminal proceeding, including the determination of credit for time served under 6 R. Stat. § 131.311 and the imposition of a period to be served before expungement under 6 R. Stat. § 131.312;
an expungement proceeding, which 6 R. Stat. § 131.601 makes ex parte;
a proceeding to declare a defendant a fugitive from justice under 6 R. Stat. § 131.502;
a proceeding to revoke probation or community control;
a contempt punished summarily;
a hearing upon the voluntariness of a defendant’s absence held under Rid. R. Crim. P. 18.3(c), and a determination under 6 R. Stat. § 131.501(d) and Rid. R. Crim. P. 18.3(e) whether a trial may proceed in a defendant’s absence, at which the court may receive any evidence it finds reliable; and
the entry of a criminal default, and the issuance or recall of a default warrant, under 6 R. Stat. § 131.501(i) and Rid. R. Crim. P. 18.2. There are no bond or bail proceedings in this State, 6 R. Stat. § 131.205 forbidding them, and no provision of these rules shall be construed to contemplate one.
Privileges in Every Proceeding. Title Five applies at every stage of every proceeding, including a proceeding named in Rule 101(5) and an ex parte proceeding.
Conduct of a Proceeding Excepted by Rule 101(5). In a proceeding named in Rule 101(5):
the court may receive and act upon any evidence it finds reliable, including hearsay, a recording, a capture, a log, and an in-game record;
the court shall state on the record the evidence upon which it relies and the finding it makes; and
no ruling made there upon the admissibility of evidence binds the court at a trial or evidentiary hearing at which these rules apply.
Administrative Proceedings. Administrative procedures under Title III, Subtitle IV of the Ridgeway Statutes follow these rules, except where a state statute otherwise indicates, as 3 R. Stat. § 141.103 provides. In such a proceeding:
all relevant evidence admitted shall be authenticated by an appropriate witness, as 3 R. Stat. § 141.106 provides; Rule 902 does not operate before the administrative court, and no item is self-authenticating there;
hearsay is admissible only where it uses the statements of the accused, and no other hearsay shall be admitted, as 3 R. Stat. § 141.107 provides; Rules 803, 804, and 52 are limited accordingly, and Rule 801(4) is unaffected where the statement is that of the accused;
the order of proof is that prescribed by 3 R. Stat. § 141.102(d), and no provision of these rules shall be construed to enlarge, contract, or reorder it; and
the Ridgeway Rules of Civil Procedure govern procedure, as 3 R. Stat. § 141.104 provides.
Statutes and the Constitution Control. Where a provision of these rules conflicts with the Constitution of the State of Ridgeway or with a statute, the Constitution or statute governs and the provision is inoperative to the extent of the conflict. These rules are promulgated under Const. art. V § 9 and 3 R. Stat. § 121.106, and shall not abridge, enlarge, or modify a substantive right.
Local Rules. A court may prescribe local rules of evidentiary practice under 3 R. Stat. § 121.106(c). A local rule binds only within the court that prescribed it, and is of no effect to the extent it conflicts with these rules, with the Ridgeway Rules of Civil Procedure or of Criminal Procedure, or with law.
Application in Criminal Proceedings. The law regarding the competency of evidence and of witnesses in civil proceedings applies in criminal proceedings, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.304 provides. Where a rule states a different standard for a criminal case, that statement governs the criminal case.
Jury and Non-Jury Proceedings. A jury sits in a criminal case only upon a charge of treason and only upon the defendant’s demand, as 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.111 and 131.306 provide, and the right to jury trial is otherwise preserved only when explicitly demanded by law, as Const. art. I § 7 provides. Every provision of these rules that refers to a jury, to instructing a jury, or to the presence or hearing of a jury applies in a proceeding in which a jury sits. In every other proceeding:
the court is both the judge of admissibility and the trier of fact;
a provision requiring an instruction to the jury is satisfied by a statement of the court on the record identifying the limited purpose for which evidence is considered, the inference the court does or does not draw, or the matter the court disregards; and
the court is presumed to have disregarded evidence it has excluded or stricken, and to have considered evidence admitted for a limited purpose only for that purpose.
Purpose and Construction. These rules shall be construed so as to administer every proceeding fairly, to eliminate unjustifiable expense and delay, and to promote the development of the law of evidence, to the end of ascertaining the truth and securing a just determination.