Evidence Commons^™

Making Rule 23 Ideal: Using A Multifactor Test To Evaluate The Admissibility Of Evidence At Class Certification, Cianan M. Lesley

Michigan Law Review

Circuit courts are split on whether and to what extent the Daubert standard should apply at class certification. Potential plaintiffs believe that application of Daubert would make it nearly impossible to obtain class certification. For potential defendants, the application of the standard is an important way to ensure that the certification process is fair. This Note examines the incentives underlying the push to apply the Daubert standard at class certification and the benefits and drawbacks associated with that proposal. It proposes a solution that balances the concerns of both plaintiffs and defendants by focusing on three factors: the obstacles to …

New Pleading, New Discovery, Scott Dodson

Michigan Law Review

Pleading in federal court has a new narrative. The old narrative was one of notice, with the goal of broad access to the civil justice system. New Pleading, after the landmark Supreme Court cases of Twombly and Iqbal, is focused on factual sufficiency, with the purpose of screening out meritless cases that otherwise might impose discovery costs on defendants. The problem with New Pleading is that factual insufficiency often is a poor proxy for meritlessness. Some plaintifs lack sufficient factual knowledge of the elements of their claims not because the claims lack merit but because the information they need is …

Apology Within A Moral Dialectic: A Reply To Professor Robbennolt, Lee Taft

Michigan Law Review

Over the last several years, much has been written about the role of apology in facilitating the resolution of legal disputes. Within this body of work a debate has developed among legal scholars, practitioners, and legislators. Under traditional rules of evidence an apology which acknowledged fault would enter evidence as an admission against interest. Now there is a movement to legislatively "protect" apologies from the effects of the traditional rule in order to facilitate apology without evidentiary encumbrance. Scholars who have argued in favor of the relaxation of the traditional rule have largely relied on anecdotal evidence to support their …

Apologies And Legal Settlement: An Empirical Examination, Jennifer K. Robbennolt

Michigan Law Review

It is often said that U.S. legal culture discourages apologies. Defendants, defense counsel, and insurers worry that statements of apology will be admissible at trial and will be interpreted by jurors and judges as admissions of responsibility. In recent years, however, several legal commentators have suggested that disputants in civil lawsuits should be encouraged to apologize to opposing parties. They claim that apologies will avert lawsuits and promote settlement. Consistent with this view, legislatures in several states have enacted statutes that are intended to encourage and protect apologies by making them inadmissible. In addition, some commentators argue that defendants might …

Third-Party Modification Of Protective Orders Under Rule 26©, Patrick S. Kim

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that similarly situated litigants always should be given access to protected discovered materials, while nonlitigants should gain access to protected materials only in exceptional circumstances. This approach effectively balances the privacy and property interests of the original parties and the intervening parties with the interests of adjudicative efficiency. Part I establishes that there is no general public right of access to civil discovery and that courts should disregard such purported rights when considering whether to modify a protective order. Part II identifies three interests that courts should weigh when considering whether to modify a protective order: the …

Toward A Liberal Application Of The "Close Of All The Evidence" Requirement Of Rule 50(B) Of The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure: Embracing Fairness Over Formalism, Rollin A. Ransom

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines the language and purposes of rule 50 to determine if and when a relaxed application of its requirements is appropriate. Part I considers the terms and goal of the rule and concludes that its purpose is to put the party opposing the motion for judgment as a matter of law on notice of the movant's assertion that the evidence is insufficient as a matter of law, and to provide the opposing party an opportunity to "cure." Part II discusses courts' varying application of the requirement that a motion for judgment as a matter of law made at …

Discovery Of Retained Nontestifying Experts' Identities Under The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note proposes an approach to the problem of identification of rule 26(b)(4)(B) experts that differs from both of the approaches taken in the reported opinions. 9 Part I analyzes the language of rule 26(b) and rejects the majority approach. As a matter of statutory construction, rule 26(b )( 4)(B) governs the disclosure of the identity of nontestifying experts retained by a party in preparation for trial. Part II examines the underlying purposes of rules 26(b)(l) and 26(b)(4)(B) - to ensure adequate pretrial disclosure and to prevent unfairness in adversarial competition - and suggests that both interests may be accommodated. …

Use Of Record Of Criminal Conviction In Subsequent Civil Action Arising From The Same Facts As The Prosecution, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The overwhelming majority of courts considering the issue without the aid of pertinent legislation have held that a record of a prior criminal conviction may not be used against a convicted person in subsequent civil proceedings arising from the same facts as the criminal prosecution but to which the state is not a party. It is admissible neither as evidence of the facts underlying it, nor as the basis of an estoppel preventing the convicted party from relitigating those issues which must have been decided against him in the criminal trial for the judge or jury to have found him …

The New Michigan Pre-Trial Procedural Rules-Models For Other States?, Robert Meisenholder

Michigan Law Review

The new Michigan procedural laws are embodied in a revised set of statutes and court rules which became effective January 1, 1963, after a long period of study by a Joint Committee on Michigan Procedural Revision. They abolish an anachronistic distinction between procedures in law and equity, abrogate a scattered, disorganized set of rules and statutes, and create a unified, coherent procedural system.

Civil Procedure-Trial Practice-Introduction Of Inadmissible Evidence To Cure Improper Argument By Counsel, Arthur M. Sherwood

Michigan Law Review

In a suit to recover damages for wrongful death arising out of an automobile accident, plaintiff's counsel offered in evidence the official report of a police officer, which included the officer's opinion that defendant's parked car had contributed to the collision. Defendant's objection to this evidence was sustained on the grounds that the report was hearsay and that it set forth a conclusion which only the jury could draw. Defendant's counsel, during his summation, asserted that no police officer had said that defendant's car had in any way caused the accident. The court, sua sponte, admitted into evidence the officer's …

Federal Civil Procedure-Discovery-Availability Of Attorney-Client Privilege To Corporations, Stephen M. Wittenberg

Michigan Law Review

During the pre-trial stage of a civil antitrust suit, plaintiff sought inspection of certain documents in the files of the corporate defendants' outside counsel. The defendant contended that these documents were protected from discovery by the attorney-client privilege. Upon motion for inspection, held, granted. The attorney-client privilege is not available to any of the corporate parties in this action. Radiant Burners, Inc. v. American Gas Ass'n, 207 F. Supp. 771, aff'd on rehearing, 209 F. Supp. 321 (N.D. Ill. 1962).

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.

Evidence - Rules Of Evidence In Disbarment, Habeas Corpus, And Grand Jury Proceedings, Paul S. Gerding S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this comment to examine three common-law proceedings in which rules of evidence are generally not governed by statute, to determine whether the liberalism expressed in administrative hearings has extended to non-statutory areas. Specifically, to what extent have the exclusionary rules of evidence, which rest on the theory of preventing the jury from being misled (the "jury theory"), been abandoned in disbarment, habeas corpus, and grand jury proceedings?

Evidence - Rules Of Evidence In Disbarment, Habeas Corpus, And Grand Jury Proceedings, Paul S. Gerding S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this comment to examine three common-law proceedings in which rules of evidence are generally not governed by statute, to determine whether the liberalism expressed in administrative hearings has extended to non-statutory areas. Specifically, to what extent have the exclusionary rules of evidence, which rest on the theory of preventing the jury from being misled (the "jury theory"), been abandoned in disbarment, habeas corpus, and grand jury proceedings?

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 …

Eminent Domain - Procedure - Relation Of Judge And Jury In Michigan Condemnation Proceedings, John H. Jackson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The relationship of judge to jury in Michigan condemnation proceedings presents in many ways a merger of some of the problems and questions contained in the relationship of judge to jury in civil trials, and of court to tribunal in administrative law. Theorists as well as the practicing lawyer in Michigan and some other states" may well find in the development of the Michigan condemnation proceeding an interesting example of the growth of a procedure for adjudication, in a context of cross-fire between legislative ideas and judicial interpretation of a constitutional provision.

Civil Procedure - Pre-Trial Discovery - Disclosure Of Amount Of Defendant's Liability Insurance, David L. Genger

Michigan Law Review

In an action arising out of a highway collision, plaintiff sought disclosure of the amount of defendant's liability insurance in a pre-trial discovery proceeding. The defendant was adjudged to be in default for his refusal to disclose this information. On a writ of certiorari, held, the order of the trial court is quashed. Only matters which can actually be admitted and used as evidence or matters which might lead to the finding of such evidence are proper subjects of discovery under the Florida rule. The amount of defendant's insurance is not relevant to the litigation since it will accomplish …

Constitutional Law - Fifth Amendment - Right Of Defendant In Denaturalization Proceedings To Refuse To Testify, Theodore G. Koerner

Michigan Law Review

The United States as plaintiff instituted denaturalization proceedings alleging that deliberately false statements were made by defendant at the time of his naturalization. No "affidavit showing good cause" for such suit, required by section 340 (a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, was filed with the original complaint although one was filed with a later amended complaint. When plaintiff sought to take defendant's deposition pursuant to rule 26, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, defendant appeared for the examination but refused to be sworn. He was taken before the district court which directed that he be sworn, and he …

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.

Hearsay And Conspiracy: A Reexamination Of The Co-Conspirators' Exception To The Hearsay Rule, Joseph H. Levie

Michigan Law Review

The expansion of the law of conspiracy and the increasing number of prosecutions for its violation have been much commented on lately. Many kinds of anti-social conduct directed principally against the public welfare are now frequently punished by prosecution for conspiracy instead of prosecution for the substantive offense. Conspiracy is an ideal way to deal with organized crime and has been used extensively against quasi-treasonous activities. Similarly the Sherman Act's criminal sanctions are primarily couched in terms of conspiracy and the civil conspiracy action for divestiture or dissolution is the usual method of enforcing the antitrust laws. This emphasis on …

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 …

Civil Procedure - Compensation Of Witnesses In A Civil Action, David W. Belin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

As the amount and complexity of litigation has increased, there have been corresponding increases in demands for added compensation of witnesses. Like the juror, the witness often receives the time-honored answer that he cannot be heard to complain that his compensation is inadequate; the administration of justice is a mutual benefit to all members of the community, and each is under a public duty to further it.

At common law witnesses received no compensation. Time spent in testifying was held to be claimed by the public as a tax, paid by the witness to the system of law which protected …

Constitutional Law-Due Process Of Law-Admissibility Of Confessions Under The Fourteenth Amendment, Harold G. Christensen S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Supreme Court announced in 1936 that under certain circumstances the admission of a confession into evidence by a state court could amount to a denial of due process as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Since that time there has been an increasing number of appeals seeking reversal of a conviction upon that ground and an expansion by the Court of the types of factual situations which will render a confession inadmissible. That this expansion reached its apex with the case of Watts v. Indiana and companion cases decided in 1949 appears probable in the light of a recent denial …

Practice And Procedure-Trial Practice-Juror Affidavits, Paul M.D. Harrison S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The jury, in an action for trespass, returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff and thereafter separated after being dismissed by the court. Subsequently, a juror reported to the court that the verdict as returned did not express the actual agreement of the jury. Five days after dismissal the jury was recalled and, upon being polled, unanimously agreed that the verdict as returned did not represent the actual agreement of the jury due to an error in computation. The jury was sent back to the jury room under instructions to refigure the verdict only upon evidence already presented in …

Federal Courts-Detected Verdicts In Civil Actions, Zolman Cavitch

Michigan Law Review

Juries must answer to questions of fact and judges to questions of law. This is the fundamental maxim acknowledged by the Constitution. When no fact question is present, no right to jury trial in a civil suit exists, and the constitutional guaranty is, therefore, not violated by the exercise of control by the court in keeping the jury to determination of questions of fact or in keeping it within the bounds of reason. One of the most important and often used methods of control is the directed verdict, whereby the court peremptorily instructs the jury to bring in a verdict …

Trial Practice-Demurrer Upon Evidence As A Device For Taking A Case From The Jury, Charles H. King

Michigan Law Review

By far the oldest of the common law devices for taking a case away from a jury is the demurrer upon evidence. A reported instance of its use appears as early as 1456.

Federal Procedure-Appeal Under Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act--Scope Of Admiralty Appeal Compared With Appeal Under The New Federal Rules, De Witte Chatterton

Michigan Law Review

Appellee, the United States government, by a proceeding in rem, sought to condemn two shipments of canned oysters packed by appellant, the C. C. Company, under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, on the ground that the oysters were wholly or partially decomposed. The district court found for the appellee on conflicting evidence of experts, and appellant appealed to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. On the theory that procedure on appeal should conform to appeals in admiralty, the circuit court of appeals reviewed the whole case de novo, reversed the district court on the ground …

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 - Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure - Rule 12(E) - Motion For Bill Of Particulars, Oliver B. Crager

Michigan Law Review

The United States brought an action against defendants, movie distributors and producers, for alleged conspiracies and monopolies in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Defendants moved for a more definite statement or a bill of particulars under federal rule 12 (e). Held, bill of particulars allowed as to demands seeking ultimate facts, denied as to demands seeking evidentiary matter. United States v. Schine Chain Theatres, (D. C. N. Y. 1940) 1 F. R. D. 205.

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 …