Title : QUEST Evidence Computer Tutorials - A Review Author : Jeffrey Rosales-Castaneda Organisation : Murdoch University School of Law Keywords : Evidence; computer assisted learning; : computerised tutorials Abstract : A student review of a computer based tutorial for : use in teaching Australian evidence law. Contact Name : The Editors, E Law Contact Address: Murdoch University School of Law, PO Box 1014, : Canning Vale, Western Australia, 6155 Contact Phone : + 61 09 360 2976 Contact Email : elaw-editors@csuvax1.murdoch.edu.au Last Verified : 9 December 1994 Last Updated : 9 December 1994 Creation Date : 5 December 1994 Filename : quest.txt File Size : 13.4K File Type : Document File Format : ASCII Publication Status: Final COPYRIGHT POLICY: Material appearing in E Law is accepted on the basis that the material is the original, uncopied work of the author or authors. 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ISSN: 1321-8247 EMAIL RETRIEVAL: message "get elaw-j quest.txt" URL: gopher://infolib.murdoch.edu.au:70/00/.ftp/pub/subj/law/jnl/elaw/ current/quest.txt ftp://infolib.murdoch.edu.au/pub/subj/law/jnl/elaw/current/ quest.txt -------------------------------------------------------------- QUEST Evidence Computer Tutorials - A Review Jeffrey Rosales-Castaneda Computer technology has penetrated in many areas of learning. One of these areas is the study of the law. Programmes are being deviced in order to make the study of the law more enjoyable and efficient for those who have access to a microprocessor. One of the programmes deviced for such a purpose is QUEST, a computer tutorial dealing with the rules of evidence, and published by the Law Book Company in 1994. QUEST was devised and written by Ian Wilson, a Senior Lecturer and Barrister at law, and programmed by Mark Looi. _Aims_ QUEST has been designed to test and enhance the student's knowledge on evidence rules in general through the stimulating interactive environment of a computer. The student is provided with a practical problem, a set of questions, and a set of multiple choice answers. _Hardware Requirements_ QUEST can be used on any IBM compatible computer. That is a good feature, since - technically speaking - the tutorial does not need to be run in the latest microprocessors such as 386 SL or 486 DX. However, in order to use the programme, one needs to have access to a small 3 1/4 high density disk- drive. This feature makes it difficult to use the tutorial for those who have access to relatively old computers equipped with double-density disk- drives. This problem may be overcome by loading the tutorial into a double- density floppy disk. One needs, however, to have access to a high-density disk-drive in order to do this. _Installation_ The tutorial can be run either from the floppy disk itself, or from hard disk. In order to run it from a floppy disk, one needs to select the appropriate floppy drive (usually "A:" or "B:"), type "QUEST" (without the inverted commas) and press ENTER. If the tutorial is to be loaded into a hard-disk, one must place the floppy disk on the appropriate drive, type "A:" or "B:", and then type "INSTALL" at the "A:" or "B:" prompt; the screen will then display a series of instructions that the user must follow. Once the installation is completed, the user must log into the directory QUEST, and type "QUEST" at the prompt of the programme. _Structure and Contents_ QUEST is divided into two main parts, namely ECHO and EPIC. ECHO deals with concepts of hearsay. The objective of this part of the tutorial is to test and expand the student's knowledge on hearsay and original evidence. However, ECHO does not deal with the exceptions to hearsay nor with the Res Gestae doctrine. EPIC deals with other general rules of evidence. _ECHO_ The instructions for this part are found in the menu option "About ECHO", which can be started by pressing "1". One may select the tutorial itself by pressing "C". Once this is done, the screen displays the "ECHO Lesson Menu", where the user may choose the level of knowledge to be tested. The levels range from SKILL 1 (beginners) to SKILL 6 (advanced). Echo presents a series of hypothetical statements made in a court environment. The student is then asked whether they are hearsay. The choice is simple, one has to answer "yes" or "no". The questions are easy to follow. If the user chooses the wrong answer, the tutorial points that out; then, the tutorial provides the principle relevant to the question, and expands on the theoretical grounds of hearsay. Having arrived to a satisfactory answer, the user is invited to press another key to go to the next question. The above process is then repeated. A sample of the questions presented in this part of the tutorial is the following: Crown v Defendant for murder by poison. Defendant claims that she bought poison for rats and that her husband took it to commit suicide. The prosecution claims she bought poison to kill her husband. Defendant tenders testimony of Groscer that Defendant's daughter told Grocer: " I saw some rats in the basement and Mum is going to come in and buy poison for them." Hearsay? Press "Y" for Yes or "N" for No. After the student has answered "yes" or "no", the screen displays the correct answer as follows: Answer: The statement does not fall within any of the established categories of original evidence. It would be offered for the truth of the matter asserted, i.e.: that rats were present and that Defendant's intent was as stated. It is otherwise irrelevant to know what the daughter believed to be the case. It is hearsay and is therefore inadmissible. The question-answer format of this section of the tutorial allows the student to test his/her knowledge of evidence in relation to hearsay. The student has the chance to apply what he/she has learned on a hypothetical situation. The answer provided by the tutorial goes beyond the mere "right" or "wrong"; it provides the student with the basis for which the statement should or should not be regarded as hearsay. Sometimes, in other questions, the tutorial even cites cases supporting the principle stated. The only shortcoming of this section is that the authorities cited tend to be from the British jurisdiction. _EPIC_ As discussed above, EPIC deals with general rules of evidence such as - inter alia - The Best Evidence Rule, Original Evidence, Res Gestae, Admissions by the Opponent, Personal Knowledge, and Prior admissible statement. EPIC places the student in a real-life court situation, enabling him/her to apply what he/she has learned in a practical way. The dynamics of this part of the tutorial consist on a hypothetical situation where the student plays the role of a judge. The student is asked to rule on objections to evidence raised in the course of a trial. The case is a civil one, dealing with a claim for personal injuries derived from a motor-vehicle accident. The plaintiff seeks to prove that the defendant ran a red light, drove at an excessive speed, drove with defective brakes, and failed to keep a proper lookout. The defendant, on the other hand, denies the acts of negligence, and counterclaims that the plaintiff was drunk (and thus, negligent), and ignored the police officer's traffic directions (as the traffic lights were not working at the time of the accident). There is a choice of three witnesses to be examined and cross-examined, namely the plaintiff, the plaintiff's passenger, and a bystander. Once a witness is selected, the screen displays the testimony in question and answer form; an objection is made, and the student is asked to rule on it by choosing the appropriate rule of evidence as the basis of his/her ruling. An example of the type of question provided by EPIC is the following: Defendant's counsel concluded her cross-examination of Passenger with the previous question. Plaintiff's counsel now closes his case, and Defendant's counsel starts presenting the defence case. As her first witness, White calls Bystander, a pedestrian at the scene of the accident. Q. Were the traffic lights in the intersection prior to the collision? A. No. Q. Was anyone standing in the intersection prior to the collision? A. Yes, there was a policeman directing traffic. Q. Did he say anything to Plaintiff prior to the collision? A. Yes. Q. What did the policeman say to Plaintiff? OBJECTION! At this stage, the student must assume the role of a judge, and rule on the objection. The student has now three choices: Press "S" to sustain, press "O" to overrule, or press "H" for a hint. If the student chooses to overrule, the screen displays the following: You have sustained the objection. Why? 1. Not Relevant 2. Best Evidence Rule 3. Leading 4. Opinion 5. Hearsay 6. Privilege 7. No Personal Knowledge If the student choses the "wrong" ground to sustain - if sustaining were appropriate in the present question - the screen displays information about this ground, explaining when that rule of evidence can be appropriately applied. Next, the tutorial invites the student to try again - until he/she gets it right - . If, on the other hand, the student opts for overruling the objection, the screen displays the following: You have overruled the Objection. Why? 1. Res Gestae 2. Admission of a Party Opponent 3. Prior Admissible Statement 4. Original Evidence 5. Circumstantial Evidence 6. Corroboration The above question, according to the tutorial, should be overruled on the grounds of Res Gestae. The screen shows as follows: The objection should be overruled on this ground. Not every out of court statement is hearsay. A statement is hearsay only if it implicitly or explicitly makes some assertion, and is offered in court for the purpose of showing the truth of that assertion. See *Subramaniam v Public Prosecutor* [1956] 1 WLR 965. Here, the statement is not being offered to show that some assertion made by the policeman was true; rather, it is being offered to show that Plaintiff was negligent because he disobeyed the direction of the policeman. (Analogously, testimony could be offered that there was a sign at the intersection saying "STOP" would not be hearsay.) The student is then invited to either take the next question or to exit the tutorial. _Assessment_ QUEST represents a good attempt to improve the learning of the law through microprocessor technology. QUEST has all the essential elements of a good tutorial: it has intelligible and practical questions, well developed answers (with cases supporting the answers), and a friendly format providing an easy access for those students who are not very familiar with computers. ECHO is the simplest part of the tutorial. It does not deal with a "one- case-situation" as in EPIC; instead, it provides different scenarios where the student can test his/her knowledge on hearsay. However, the student can benefit from this simplicity, as all his/her efforts will be concentrated in that important area of Evidence law. EPIC, on the other hand, can be regarded - at least in my personal opinion - as the most elaborated and interesting part of the tutorial. All the questions are related to a single case of personal injury and motor-vehicle accident. Thus, it is easier to follow the track of the examining and cross-examining by counsels. One can approach the questions of this part of the tutorial in a holistic way, because one is already acquainted with the details of the whole case. Due to the simplicity of the programme, QUEST can be used in almost any IBM compatible (provided, of course, that the computer has a high-density disk- driver), and it can be regarded as a friendly-user programme. However, the programme could be improved. The potential of a computer programme as a learning tool is infinite. A computer tutorial may be able to stimulate the senses of the user and, thus, make learning more fun. More graphics and sounds would be a great improvement for QUEST, as the student would not face the dryness of a screen full of questions and answers. Another computer tutorial in law has done this with an amazing success. The 1993 edition of Lipton's Company Law in Australia included a computer tutorial disk which makes a good use of graphics and sounds. Perhaps this could be done in relation to QUEST. Finally, the fact that QUEST is a tutorial without a text book makes it a bit difficult to completely relate to the tutorial. Perhaps if QUEST was part of an "Evidence in a nutshell" booklet, one could use the tutorial in a better way. Overall, I think QUEST has been an excellent attempt to improve our learning in the law.