Evidence Commons^™

New York Proposed Code Of Evidence: Article V, The Symposium: The New York Proposed Code Of Evidence, Michael M. Martin

Faculty Scholarship

Article V of the New York Proposed Code of Evidence sets forth the rules of evidentiary privilege. Unlike other articles of the Proposed Code, it differs significantly from its federal counterpart. Article V of the Federal Rules of Evidence consists of only rule 501, which provides that, unless otherwise required by the constitution or federal statute, privileges in federal courts are governed by "the principles of the common law as they may be interpreted... in the light of reason and experience." Rule 501 further provides, however, that questions of privilege in civil cases as to which state law supplies the …