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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Virtues And Limits Of Codes In Legal Ethics, Vincent R. Johnson
The Virtues And Limits Of Codes In Legal Ethics, Vincent R. Johnson
Faculty Articles
In the absence of codified standards of ethics, the ethical quality of law practice would degenerate into inconsistency and unpredictability. The presence of an ethics code can unduly burden and limit the practice of law. However, ethics codes should not be thought of as tools to ensure the law is practiced humanely. Instead, they should be viewed as attempts to ameliorate the impediments to a humane practice and to call lawyers to that goal.
Tom Schaffer, a scholar and professor of Ethics at Notre Dame, lamented the fact that the codification of standards of attorney conduct could induce lawyers to …
A Short History Of Hearsay Reform, With Particular Reference To Hoffman V. Palmer, Eddie Morgan And Jerry Frank, Michael S. Ariens
A Short History Of Hearsay Reform, With Particular Reference To Hoffman V. Palmer, Eddie Morgan And Jerry Frank, Michael S. Ariens
Faculty Articles
Much of the history of the American law of evidence, including its most contentious issue, hearsay, is the story of stasis and reform. The case of Hoffman v. Palmer represents one of few cases concerning hearsay known by name, and illustrates that “false” evidence has often been used to caution against efforts proclaiming “radical reform” of the law of evidence.
In this case involving a collision between a car and a train, the critical question was: Is the defendant railroad permitted to introduce into evidence the transcript of a question and answer session made two days after the accident between …
Progress Is Our Only Product: Legal Reform And The Codification Of Evidence, Michael S. Ariens
Progress Is Our Only Product: Legal Reform And The Codification Of Evidence, Michael S. Ariens
Faculty Articles
Twentieth century reform of the American law of evidence was initially premised on the ideals of legal progressivism, ideals splintered by American legal realism. In preparing the American Law Institute's Model Code of Evidence from 1939 to 1942, Harvard Law School professor Edmund M. Morgan attempted to reconstitute the framework of reform in light of the challenge of legal realism. The Model Code was based on granting greater discretion to the trial judge and changing the goals of the trial from a search for truth to a "rational" resolution of disputes.
Morgan’s decision to emphasize the rational resolution of disputes …
The Law Of Evidence And The Idea Of Progress, Michael S. Ariens
The Law Of Evidence And The Idea Of Progress, Michael S. Ariens
Faculty Articles
To ask the question, “Does evidence law matter?,” is often to assume that some sets or groups of people believe it is important while others are challenging that view. However, another assumption regarding the nature of this question is possible—that the question is asked because legal academics believe that evidence law both does and does not matter, and that those academics also believe that these are irreconcilable beliefs. What is of particular interest is how legal academics reached this point and why they believe that evidence law both does and does not matter.
Consideration of these aspects of evidence law …