Ashford University Nuts and Bolts of Evidence Essay

Answer any 5 of the following questions. Please number your answers to correspond to the number of the applicable questions. 

Is the husband-wife privilege the same now as it was 50 years ago? If not, discuss its development and changes. What criteria are applied in determining if the privilege exists?

State and give examples of three exceptions to the husband-wife privilege.

• Describe the attorney-client privilege and give the rationale for the privilege. Does the privilege survive the client’s death?
• What is meant by the crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege? Discuss the two-point test that governs this exception.
• Who has the legal power to assert the attorney-client privilege? Are there any exceptions?
• What is the physician-patient privilege? What is its primary purpose of the privilege? What are the exceptions? Does the privilege apply to communications with a psychologist? Explain each of your answers to these questions.
• What is meant by the term shield law, as used with respect to the news media-informant privilege? What is the intent behind shield laws? Under what conditions must the privilege give way to countervailing interests?
• What are the requirements for establishing the clergy-penitent privilege? Explain each of the requirements.
• This is a formal writing assignment; therefore, you must cite all references, and all written assignments must comply with proper English grammatical and spelling rules. No specific citation style is required; however, you must use quotations when appropriate and include enough information to sufficiently identify your source(s). If quoting a reference verbatim, you must also include the page number. Please cite your source after each answer; one reference to the text at the end of the assignment is not sufficient. Failure to cite sources or improper citation of sources will result in a one-point deduction per answer.
• Formal writing style also requires that, except for bona fide emphasis, your work shall be in prose and not in “bullet” format. Complete, grammatically-correct sentences are expected.

There will be deductions from a student’s written assignment if the vast majority of the assignment submission consists of cut-and-paste, verbatim material from sources, even if you cite the source. The writing assignments are designed to help you grasp the material, to better prepare for quizzes, and to improve written communication skills. Merely regurgitating verbatim material in a cut-and-paste fashion from sources does not promote learning and detracts from the opportunity for you to demonstrate and improve upon your written communication skills.