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Discretion Abused: Reinterpreting The Appellate Standard Of Review For Hearsay, Matthew J. Peterson
Discretion Abused: Reinterpreting The Appellate Standard Of Review For Hearsay, Matthew J. Peterson
Matthew J. Peterson
Matthew J. Peterson, Discretion Abused: Reinterpreting the Appellate Standard of Review for Hearsay
Abstract:
The decision by a federal a court to exclude or admit hearsay can be crucial to the case of either party. Despite this prospective impact, the federal courts of appeal currently defer to district courts’ expertise by reviewing a district court’s decision to admit or exclude hearsay for an abuse of discretion. Such deference often insulates district courts’ incorrect interpretation of the rule against hearsay and the improper application of the exclusions and exceptions to the rule from appellate reversal.
Lowering the standard of review for …