I was once asked a hypothetical question in court under oath. It was a "What would you do if this happened to you..." kind of question.

Hypothetical questions should not be asked in court. They are irrelevant. But sometimes the idiot judge allows it.

I answered honestly. I said, "It would depend on my state of mind at the time..."



And that is basically true. Depending on our state of mind, we might react completely different than we think we would to a posed (hypothetical) situation. Or we might not know how we would react because we had never been in that situation. It would only be a our best guess.

I don't think that's a smart answer to give in court...

Why?

The answer is uncommitted. Anything else would be speculation and unprovable anyway.

Because the judge might think that you act on impulse.

I would have given the same answer, Jeanniebean. I also agree that hypothetical questions should not be allowed in court. Courtrooms are for things of a factual nature, not hypothetical.

So?

We act according to our state of mind at the time of the incident.
If you are angry, if you are sad, if you are afraid or if you are unconscious, unaware, happy, distracted,etc. you will act differently in each of these cases.

In attempting to answer a question honestly, one does not need to consider or be afraid of what the judge might think.

Yes. They are usually posed by the defense lawyer who is grasping at straws or trying to discredit a witness or make a point. They have little to do with the facts of the case.

No no... we act based on our state of mind but to a verrry limited extent. I'm not going to wack someone who cuts in the line at the bank because I'm extremely upset in that moment.

Yes your feelings slightly affect your experiences, but there's a serious problem if your mood determines how you act.

Jeanie, Your argument has merit on a phylosophical level but it is not a proper answer in court. The reason for hypothetiacl questions in court are to determine a persons ability to make rational and reasonable decisions. Your answer would indicate that you are not capable of making any decision prior to being confronted with a real situation. By answering "It would depend on my state of mind" is like saying that it is difficult for you to understand the difference between right and wrong.

No it is asking you to guess what you might do in a given situation. I don't care how certain you are about what you might do, you do not really know what you would do.

My point is that hypothetical questions are not proper in court because the answer can only be a guess.

You can only truly know what you might do or what you would want to do. In court, you would naturally want everyone to have a good impression of you so you, in a state of calm, might imagine that you would do the right thing, but in the real situation, you might not.

You are in a bank and it is being robbed. A man threatens a woman with a loaded gun. What would you do? You might say that you would jump the guy with the gun to protect the woman or you might say you would step in front of the bullet giving your life for the woman, but in the real situation, you might be frozen with fear of your own life and just stay hidden behind a desk.

You don't really know unless you are in those kinds of situations on a regular basis. To answer a hypothetical question of any kind is not reliable because it is only your best guess or what you might hope that you would do.

If you are totally honest with them and with yourself mine would be the only correct and honest answer. Anything else would be a guess.

Most people don't know themselves as well as they think they do. Maybe some people do. I suppose I don't. My state of mind does effect the way I react to things. That does not make me a bad person. I think people's state of mind does effect the way they react to situations.

I would be a nervous wreck if I ended up in a court. I hope I never go to one in my lifetime. I would probably give all kinds of weird answers that probably land me in a jail although I am innocent if anything happened!


So there you go, I would make a terrible witness, detective, cop, lawyer, etc.

Just not my cup of tea

Being a private investigator, I spent a lot of time in court. Some lawyers are idiots. Judges are too. They are just people. Some are just as terrified to be there as the defendants.

I had to defend myself in court on a bogus traffic ticket one time and I made the female assistant district attorney look like an idiot. My case was dismissed. I did not even have to present my side of it.

It was fun.

Well you are good at it! Good job. I am not into courts, cops, and government. They all freak me out to tell you the truth

Being a naturlist out in the open country in a small cottage is my calling. Away from civilization and confrontations.

The dream of a comfy house out in the lands would be great. Maybe a cottage in New Zealand with a thousand sheep would be great.

Okay enough dreaming, but it is good to know you are a private investigator. If I ever need one, I will know where to go.

Wow you do alot of things Jeannie! Good for you

I had a very similar issue once, only instead of the ADA, I made the claimant look like an idiot and it was thrown out.


For me as to the original question, how I would answer would depend on the question.

What was the question?

It doesn't matter what the question was. That is not the point.

It was a hypothetical question about what would you have done if.....this had happened to you or if you were in this situation...

The particular question does not matter. What matters is that it requires the person under oath to GUESS OR SPECULATE what they might have done.

That is speculation and it is irrelevant to the case. Hypothetical questions should not be allowed, and if they are the answers should be taken with a grain of salt.

People don't know what they would do in certain situations, they only know what they think they might do or what they would like to think they would do. Under fire, under duress, in fear of your life, you are apt to do something unexpected.

So the question does not matter and that is not the point.

This is a very simple point. I don't know why its so hard for people to comprehend.

People will act according to their state of mind and according to what they believe and their state of awareness at the time of the event.

Well my point is it can work in your favor.

If its the kind of question I can work to my favor, then Ill answer it, otherwise no.

It does matter insofar as its what you think you would do.
Its not rocket science, that is the definition of hypothetical. Its a guess . . .


Hypothetical questions are always good as long as you know how to use them.

You say I don't know, id have to be in that situation to know, if you are uncomfortable answering the question.

If you like the hypothetical then you answer it with joy.

As far as court and them not allowed to ask hypothetical questions seems wrong headed as a blanket statement. Perhaps in a murder trial, asking the defendant a hypothetical . . . but a good defense lawyer will stop that in its tracks, that's the point of a defense lawyer . . .


JB hypothetical questions are good things in life. Its an approximation, its a lab guess, yes state of mind matters, but I bet I can ask a dozen hypothetical questions and all 12 will be easy to answer without having been in that situation.

If you are not willing to say what the question was, then I am not willing to agree that you would have to be in that situation to answer it.

Makes sense?

Yes that makes sense.

I don't even remember what the question was. I was just attempting to be as honest as possible in my answer.

I thought about the question and realized that an honest answer boiled down to being dependent on what my state of mind and state of belief and awareness would have been at the time.

You can only imagine, and take your best guess. I don't think it is a fair question. A question like that also always has an agenda behind it and if you don't want to support that agenda, then it should probably not be answered as expected.

THIS IS COMPLETELY OFF TOPIC: (correct me if I'm wrong)
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(***Although it also falls in the category of "Hypothetical Questions *********************************************************)

It seems as though the words or sentences we speak tend to have a certain flavor -- bitter or sweet... And I often wonder whether the written (tiped) word can also posess the SMELL (?!!) -- cuz it sure seems like some people in here really stink in expressing themselves!!! Regardless of their good intentions, the stinch simply comes through their manner of delivery...

Some guy in here complained of nobody responding to him... After reading his profile, I had no choice but cautioning him of the reason for No Reply could be his own BAD BREATH!!! (which is a more acceptable form of saying "you Stinck!!!")

It follows that the only remedy against the "Bad Breath" would be brushing your "intellectual teeth"! (LOL)
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