Evidence Commons^™

Georgia's Witness Immunity Statute: Explication And Recommendations For Judicial Development, Roald Mykkeltvedt

Mercer Law Review

In 1975 the Georgia General Assembly enacted a comprehensive witness immunity statute' providing for a procedure to obtain the testimony of persons who refuse to testify on self-incrimination grounds. That procedure is summarized in the following excerpt from the act:

Whenever in the judgment of the Attorney General or any district attorney, the testimony of any person or the production of evidence of any kind by any person in any criminal proceeding before a court or grand jury is necessary to the public interest, then the Attorney General or the district attorney may request the superior court, in writing, to …

Probability Theory Meets Res Ipsa Loquitur, David Kaye

Michigan Law Review

This Article uses probability theory normatively in an effort to clarify one aspect of the famous tort doctrine known as res ipsa loquitur. It does not urge that jurors be instructed in probability theory or be equipped with microprocessors. Rather, it seeks an accurate statement of the res ipsa doctrine in ordinary language. In particular, this Article will show that the conventional formulation of the doctrine is misleading at best, and should be replaced with a more careful statement of the conditions warranting the res ipsa inference. To this end, Section I briefly surveys the legal doctrine, or, more precisely, …

A Practitioner's Guide To The Management And Use Of Expert Witnesses In Washington Civil Litigation, Thomas V. Harris

Seattle University Law Review

The Washington litigation process places a premium on the skillful management of expert witnesses. Testimony presented by such witnesses is both readily admissible and virtually unlimited in scope. Washington's adoption of the new Rules of Evidence can only serve to reinforce the current practice. Since most litigated cases involve substantial factual disputes, the development and presentation of expert testimony should be a major concern of all trial attorneys. The importance of trial examination has never been underrated. That part of the litigation process is one that all attorneys relish. The skillful management of expert witnesses, however, involves far more than …

Expert Witnesses And The Federal Rules Of Evidence, James W. Mcelhaney

Mercer Law Review

Brainerd Currie was already a legend when he came to Duke from the University of Chicago. I was a third-year law student then and took his course in Conflicts in the spring of 1962—a dazzling intellectual display centered around the hard practicalities of complex litigation. But Currie was more than just a great teacher and scholar. Too busy to take a vacation ("How can you talk about taking a trip to Europe, McElhaney? I'm too busy to go to Europe, and you're going to be practicing. "), he had time to talk with us after class; to drink a cup …

A Party Need Not Show Prejudice Or Surprise To Impeach Its Own Witness, Robert R. Gunn Ii

Mercer Law Review

In Wilson v. State, the Supreme Court of Georgia unanimously held that a party may impeach the credibility of its own witness with that witness' prior inconsistent statement without showing that the testimony is a total surprise or affirmatively damaging to the party's case.

Bill Ray Wilson was convicted of murder and armed robbery on the basis of testimony from three prosecution witnesses. His case consisted solely of his sworn denial. The testimony of one prosecution witness was inconsistent with a previous written, sworn statement in which the witness had said Wilson had confessed to the murder in his …

Custody Rights Of Lesbian Mothers: Legal Theory And Litigation Strategy, Nan D. Hunter, Nancy D. Polikoff

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Informant And Accomplice Witness: Problems For The Prosecution, 9 J. Marshall J. Prac. & Proc. 243 (1975), Michael D. Marrs

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Symposium: The Use Of Videotape In The Courtroom, Tom C. Clark

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Videotape Testimony In Jury Trials: Studies On Juror Decision Making, Information Retention, And Emotional Arousal, Gerald R. Miller, David C. Bender, Frank Boster, B. Thomas Florence, Norman Fontes, John Hocking, Henry Nicholson

BYU Law Review

Summary of Contents

I. Introduction: The Nature of the Research

II. Group I : The Nugent u. Clark Studies

A. Background

1. Selecting the stimulus trial

2. Editing the transcript

3. Preparing the trial

a. Casting

b. Equipment

B. Nugent u. Clark Study

1 : live v. videotape trials 1. Questions examined

2. Procedures

a. The live presentation

b. The videotape presentation

c. The questionnaire

3. Results and discussion

a. Negligence verdicts and mean awards

b. Juror perception of attorney credibility

c. Juror information retention

d. Juror interest and motivation

4. Conclusions from Study 1

C. Nugent u. Clark Study …

An Assessment Of Videotape In The Criminal Courts, Ernest H. Short, B. Thomas Florence, Mary Alice Marsh

BYU Law Review

Summary of Contents

I. Introduction

A. A brief history of television and videotape in the justice system

B. Recent studies of videotape technology in the justice system

C. Overview of the goals and methodology of the present study

II. The Videotape System

A. The recording environment

1. Lighting

2. Spatial arrangement

3. Participant mobility

4. Acoustics

5. Electrical power

B. Production techniques

1. Video source location

2. Audio source location

3. Picture composition

a. Zooms

b. Varying video sources

c. Special effects

C. Alternative equipment combinations

1. System 1 : the single camera

2. System 2: the single camera with …

Pretrial Discovery Of Government Informers In Federal Narcotics Cases: A Defense Tool, 9 J. Marshall J. Prac. & Proc. 221 (1975), Richard F. Walsh

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Discovery And Presentation Of Evidence In Adversary And Nonadversary Proceedings, E. Allan Lind, John Thibaut, Laurens Walker

Michigan Law Review

In order to evaluate fully the advantage claimed for the adversary model we sought to add a third element that would test the hypothesis under a variety of conditions. The degree to which the evidence discovered in a case favors one party at the expense of another appeared to meet this criterion. This fact-distribution element is a pervasive condition of legal conflict resolution that, intuition suggests, may significantly influence information search and transmission. Further, this variable could be easily and accurately controlled by regulating the flow of favorable information acquired by the subjects during the experiment.

The remainder of this …

Securing, Examining, And Cross-Examining Expert Witnesses In Environmental Cases, David Sive

Michigan Law Review

It is necessary at the outset to define the scope of the problem with which this Article will deal. Environmental cases are litigated in both judicial and administrative tribunals. The judicial proceedings include plenary actions and special proceedings and are heard in both federal and state courts. The administrative proceedings include licensing proceedings before federal agencies such as the Federal Power Commission and Atomic Energy Commission. Whether such administrative proceedings are deemed quasi-judicial or not, they are within the scope of this Article so long as they are adversary and involve testimony under oath, examination and cross-examination of witnesses, a …

Procedural Problems Of Class Suits, Joseph J. Simeone

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this article is to discuss numerous aspects of the class device, to discuss the many procedural problems confronting court and counsel, to determine the effectiveness of one type of class suit-the spurious-and in the conclusion, to propose legislation for a new rule independent of the rules regarding class actions, a remedy which would more effectively permit the dispatch of numerous claims arising from similar fact patterns.

Federal Trade Commission-Adjudicatory Proceedings-Receipt Of Evidence In Camera, Peter W. Williamson

Michigan Law Review

During an adjudicatory hearing pursuant to a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission, counsel for the Commission offered as evidence some confidential documents subpoenaed from respondent. The hearing examiner, on his own motion, ordered all confidential documents placed in camera. Counsel for the FTC objected to the order and filed an interlocutory appeal to the Commission. On the interlocutory appeal, held, error in part. Because these documents do not contain highly secret business information they must appear on the public transcript, unless tendered to the Commission and obtained subject to an express stipulation that, if offered in …

The Theory Of Criminal Discovery And The Practice Of Criminal Law, David W. Louisell

Vanderbilt Law Review

To crystallize in a few words the motif of a career as varied and comprehensive as that of Eddie Morgan would in any event be difficult, but it is doubly so for a life devoted, as his has been, to stuff as vital and dynamic as procedure and evidence. For me, his work most fundamentally is to be characterized as a quest for greater rationality in the adjudicative process. Whether one thinks of his analysis of the hearsay rule,' or his rationale of the admissions exception to it, or his treatment of the dead man's statute, or his study of …

The Civil Investigative Demand: New Fact-Finding Powers For The Antitrust Division, Richard L. Perry, William Simon

Michigan Law Review

The complexity, scope and length of modem antitrust litigation bring to prominence the procedures by which evidence - particularly documentary evidence - is discovered and placed before the courts and administrative agencies. Fact-finding mechanisms now available for ferreting out and prosecuting violations make up an imposing array. These include the grand jury subpoena, the discovery provisions of the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure and the subpoena and visitorial powers of certain administrative agencies. The "civil investigative demand," a precomplaint compulsory process, is a new weapon proposed to be added to this arsenal. Few dispute the desirability of new …

Rules Of Evidence -- Substantive Or Procedural?, Edmund M. Morgan

Vanderbilt Law Review

It hardly needs stating that the definition of a legal word or term depends upon the purpose for which it is to be defined. If in framing a generalization designed to state a rule or make a discrimination applicable in a specific topic or field of the law, the courts use specified terms, it by no means follows that they intend those terms to be understood in the same sense in generalizations dealing with problems in another topic or field. The words, substance or substantive and procedure or procedural, have been used most frequently in three separate situations: (1) in …

Book Reviews, Robert N. Cooks (Reviewer), Kenneth B. Hughs (Reviewer), Jess Halstead (Reviewer), Walter P. Armstrong, Jr. (Reviewer), Howard J. Graham (Reviewer)

Vanderbilt Law Review

Current Legal Problems 1956 Edited by G. W. Keeton and G. Schwarzenberger London: Stevens & Sons, 1956. Pp. vii, 275. $5.55

reviewer: David F. Maxwell

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Some Problems of Proof under the Anglo-American System of Litigation By Edmund Morris Morgan. New York: Columbia University Press, 1956. Pp. xii, 195. $3.50

reviewer: Charles T. McCormick

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Effective Drafting of Leases with Check List and Forms By Milton N. Lieberman Newark: Gann Law Books, 1956. Pp. viii, 974

reviewer: Robert N. Cooks

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The Law and One Man Among Many By Arthur E. Sutherland Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1956. Pp. ix, …

Morgan: Some Problems Of Proof Under The Anglo-American System Of Litigation, Roy R. Ray

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Some Problems of Proof Under the Anglo-American System of Litigation. By Edmund Morris Morgan.

Social Scientists Take The Stand: A Review And Appraisal Of Their Testimony In Litigation, Jack Greenberg

Michigan Law Review

"How to inform the judicial mind, as you know, is one of the most complicated problems,'' said Justice Frankfurter during argument of the school segregation cases. And as law deals more and more with issues of great public consequence the judiciary's need for knowledge increases. Much of this knowledge is within the realm of what are called the social sciences.

Although jurisprudents and social scientists have long complained of a gulf between law and social science, little notice has been given to the recent, recurrent collaboration between the two at the trial level. In a variety of cases social scientists' …

Evidence-Privilege-Right Of Third Person To Assert Privilege As To Accident Report Made Confidential By Statute, Richard W. Young S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff brought a negligence action for injuries sustained when the automobile in which she was a passenger collided with that operated by the defendant. Defendant questioned a police officer, who had filed the accident report, concerning statements made to him by the driver of the vehicle in which the plaintiff was riding. The trial court permitted this testimony over the plaintiff's objection that these statements were privileged under an Iowa statute purporting to make written accident reports confidential and inadmissible in evidence. On appeal after a verdict was returned in favor of the defendant, held, reversed. The statute can …

Negligence-Proof Of Causation, Walter Dean

Michigan Law Review

Decedent, a passenger on defendant's railroad was bound for X Terminal. The car doors were open and a trainman called out, "X Terminal, next," but the train stopped in the dark at point Y before reaching the announced destination to allow another train to pass. Decedent's body was found near point Y. Suit was brought by decedent's widow under the state "wrongful death" statutes. The lower court held that the plaintiff's failure to show that decedent left the train at point Y was a fatal gap in the causal chain, and gave judgment for the defendant notwithstanding the …

Evidence - Office Custom To Prove Fact Of Mailing, R. J. Nordstrom S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff agreed to purchase land from defendant by a contract in which it was stipulated that the performance of the mechanics of purchase would be completed through a third party, Webster. Plaintiff deposited the purchase money with Webster with instructions to deliver it to defendant only after he (Webster) had, inter alia, procured a policy of title insurance. Webster absconded with the funds. In a suit to determine the incidence of loss, plaintiff sought to prove that Webster had procured the policy before he absconded and therefore held the purchase money as agent for defendant. The proof that plaintiff …

Evidence-Hearsay-Admissibility Of History Statements In Hospital Record Under Business Entries Statute, Ralph E. Hunt

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sued for injuries allegedly resulting when the door of defendant's bus closed on plaintiff's ankle as he was attempting to board the bus, throwing him to the ground. Defendant offered in evidence, under the Uniform Business Records as Evidence Act, in effect in Delaware, hospital records containing the entry: "Patient states he twisted ankle while walking along the street." The interne who treated plaintiff and qualified the records had no independent recollection of the statement. On appeal from judgment for defendant, held, the record was properly admitted, although no witness could testify of his own memory that he …

Instruments Of Discovery Under Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure, Alexander Holtzoff

Michigan Law Review

The elimination of the "sporting theory" of justice, the simplification of procedure, and the prompt disposition of controversies on their merits are the great objectives of the new federal civil practice. One of the principal means for the attainment of these purposes is discovery, by which a disclosure may be obtained in respect to all pertinent information in the possession of any party to a litigation. An exception is, of course, made for privileged matter. It is one of the basic theories of the new procedure that every party to a law suit is under a duty to reveal to …

Federal Courts - Rules Of Federal Procedure - Production Of Designated Documents And Things Under Rule 34, William C. Wetherbee Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sued for damages and loss of profits caused by the unlawful acts of the defendant beginning in January, 1937. Under rule 34 of the new federal rules the defendant moved that the court order the plaintiff to produce its books showing the company's commercial results for the period prior to January 1, 1936; its duplicate federal income tax returns for the years 1934 to 1938; and all copies of statements furnished to any bank or credit company over a period of some five years. Held, motion granted in regard to books of account and duplicate income tax returns …

Evidence - Mailing - Inference Of Mailing Raised Through Proof Of Office Custom, Charles H. Haines

Michigan Law Review

In a suit on an accident insurance policy the defense of the insurer was that timely notice had been given of the revocation of the renewal privilege. At the trial, in order to raise the presumption that the notice was delivered to the insured, proof was offered that the letter was dictated and addressed in the large home office and given to the mail boy for posting according to the office custom. The letter was traced no further. On this evidence the court allowed the jury to find that the notice had been received. Plaintiff appealed. Held, reversed. The …

Practice And Procedure - Reservation Of Decision On Motion For Directed Verdict As Means Of Avoiding Unnecessary New Trials

Michigan Law Review

What may be done to remedy the situation if a jury brings in a verdict in favor of a party against whom a verdict should have been directed? This question becomes pertinent in view of the fact that judges, while hard pressed by counsel in the heat of trial, frequently wrongfully deny a motion for directed verdict and submit the case to the jury. One obvious remedy is the granting of a new trial by the trial judge, or by an appellate court after reversal. But this practice has proved eminently unsatisfactory, for it submits the aggrieved party to the …

Evidence - Admissibility Of Parol Evidence Showing That Contract In Writing Was Executed Only As Sham, John E. Tracy

Michigan Law Review

An individual is sued on a written contract or, suing on an alleged oral agreement, is confronted by a written contract which he has signed. He offers testimony that, although he executed the instrument which bears his name freely and with full knowledge of its contents, he is not to be held liable thereon because the agreement between the parties was that it should never be legally enforceable, the sole purpose of its execution having been to deceive some third person into a belief that the parties to the instrument had contracted together as in the instrument set forth.