Law Commons^™

Recollections Refreshed And Recorded, Leonard M. Niehoff

Articles

Witnesses forget stuff. When they do, the evidence rules give us two tools to help solve the problem. Lawyers call one "refreshed recollection" and the other "past recollection recorded," labels just similar enough to guarantee confusion. Nevertheless, these principles get at very different things and are well worth the effort necessary to distinguish and understand them.

So how do we get there?

Are We There Yet? Discovery For The New Litigator, Erin Rhinehart, Leonard M. Niehoff

Articles

If the road is life, then discovery is litigation. It is how we reach our destination. Unfortunately, discovery is like getting there with someone in the backseat.

Anyone who has ever traveled with passengers, especially children, knows how it plays out. In the beginning, everybody is excited. Everyone gleefully piles into the car, eager to launch. No one has any trouble amusing themselves. A couple hours in, a bathroom break and gas station snack later, it hits. The adrenaline wears off and the tedium kicks in. And then you hear the dreaded cry coming from the rear: Are we there …

Opioid Settlement Funds: Do Not Neglect Patients With Pain, Mark C. Bicket, Barbara Mcquade, Chad M. Brummett

Articles

The opioid crisis has escalated in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic to new extremes and has claimed more than half a million lives in the US since 2000. Lawsuits to address the civil and criminal liability of drug companies and other groups have originated from federal, state, local, and tribal jurisdictions. When successful, there will likely be billions of dollars and significant discretion as to how these funds are spent. Several groups have produced reports with principles to address the toll of addiction using settlement funds. However, they lack actionable strategies to address the needs of patients with pain, …