Evidence Commons^™

The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth: Is The Trier Of Fact Entitled To Hear It?, Joseph M. Reisman

University of Richmond Law Review

The fundamental goal of our adversarial system of litigation is to arrive at the truth through a fair presentation of the evidence. However, in a criminal proceeding material evidence is frequently not as available to the defense as it is to the prosecuting attorney. Consequently, rules have been developed which not only aid the defense in obtaining relevant information, but also assist the prosecution in fulfilling its ethical and constitutional obligations, chief among which is to see that justice and due process are upheld.