- Present the court with competent witness (witness has the mental capacity, and the ability to perceive, remember, and testify in an understandable manner)
- The witness must testify from his or her personal knowledge
- Mark the desired Exhibit with the clerk. “Your Honor, may I have permission to approach the Clerk for the purpose of marking this document as proposed Exhibit 12?”
- Provide a copy to opposing counsel (unless pre-marked and agreed to, which you should always attempt) “Your Honor, may the record reflect that I am handing a copy of proposed Exhibit 12 to Defense Counsel?”
- Ask for permission to approach the witness, “Your Honor, may I approach the witness?”
- Record the fact that the witness has the proposed exhibit, “Your honor, may the record reflect that I have handed the witness what has been marked as Exhibit 12 for identification purposes?”;
- Have the witness identify the document
- “Do you recognize Exhibit 12?”
- “What is it?”
- “Is that your signature on the 4th page of Exhibit 12?
- Ask the court to admit the evidence. “Your honor, we move for the admission of Exhibit 12 into evidence”
- Now that the document has been admitted, seek relevant testimony about the document. “Now, turning to the second paragraph on page one of Exhibit 12, why did . . . ”
Does it meet the test?
- Competent witness (FRE 602; NRS 50.025)
- Relevant evidence (FRE 401; NRS 48.015): tendency to make a fact more or less probable
- Admissible evidence (FRE 402; NRS 48.025): personal knowledge and the witness saw, felt, touched, or experienced it
- Tested for hearsay? (FRE 801-805; NRS 51.045-51.096)
- Authentication (FRE 901/902; NRS 52.015-52.165)