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University of Missouri School of Law

1999

Evidence

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Law

When Your Rival Becomes Your Dance Partner: Mary Carter Agreements In Missouri Courts, Thomas G. Pirmantgen Jun 1999

When Your Rival Becomes Your Dance Partner: Mary Carter Agreements In Missouri Courts, Thomas G. Pirmantgen

Missouri Law Review

Mary Carter agreements2 occur when a plaintiff asserting liability against joint tortfeasors 3 enters into a settlement agreement with less than all of the defendants. The settling defendant, who remains a party at trial, obtains the possibility of offsetting her financial exposure depending on how much money the plaintiff recovers from the other defendants. These agreements pose a potential threat to the adversarial nature of the trial process. This threat is especially severe when the trier of fact is not apprised of the agreement.4 Although maintaining the adversarial character of judicial proceedings is a public policy deserving of protection, 5 …


Business Records Exception To The Hearsay Rule--New Is Not Necessarily Better, The, Sidney Kwestel Jun 1999

Business Records Exception To The Hearsay Rule--New Is Not Necessarily Better, The, Sidney Kwestel

Missouri Law Review

Among the most significant exceptions to the hearsay rule is the business records exception.' With roots in the common law,2 it is based on the premise that records made in the regular course of business are sufficiently reliable to justify admitting them as proof of the matters asserted in them without the safeguard of cross examination.3 Widespread acceptance of a codified business records exception followed a 1927 study4 that proposed such a statute (the Model Act)' and urged its passage by everyjurisdiction.6 Congress,7 as well as several


Living A Lie: The Cost Of Qualified Immunity, Diana Hassel Jan 1999

Living A Lie: The Cost Of Qualified Immunity, Diana Hassel

Missouri Law Review

Throughout the modem civil rights era,' a silent struggle has been waged over civil liability for the violation of constitutional rights. The issues struggled with are what kinds of constitutional wrongs should be compensated and out of whose purse the damages should come. The mechanism for resolution of these issues has largely been the application of immunity defenses to civil rights remedies. A system of immunity defenses has been overlaid on the broad remedy provided by 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (hereinafter "Section 1983Y').2 A determination of the scope of the immunity defense-which government officials should get it and how much-has …


Constitutional Protection For Conversations Between Therapists And Clients, Paul E. Salamanca Jan 1999

Constitutional Protection For Conversations Between Therapists And Clients, Paul E. Salamanca

Missouri Law Review

People have long perceived a connection between mental and even physical illness and spiritual anguish. Yet, modem culture tends to view both types of illness from an increasingly medical perspective, seeking a genetic or environmental explanation. In most cases, this "medical model" is probably the best approach, even if it is imperfect. First, the purely medical explanation may be accurate. Second, even if it is not accurate, treating the symptoms of a disease with a spiritual source is probably far easier than treating the source itself. Ultimately, however, we must take note that disease is often not the result of …


Missouri's Law On Admissibility Of Other Crimes Evidence: Increasing Inclusivity, Justin M. Dean Jan 1999

Missouri's Law On Admissibility Of Other Crimes Evidence: Increasing Inclusivity, Justin M. Dean

Missouri Law Review

Evidence of other crimes, or uncharged misconduct evidence as it is commonly called, has been important in many criminal trials, including such well-publicized trials as that of O.J. Simpson for murder and those of William Kennedy Smith and Mike Tyson for rape.2 Furthermore, this type of evidence is important because studies have shown that admission of uncharged misconduct evidence greatly increases the likelihood that a jury will find the defendant guilty.3 State v. Skillicorn4 presents a look at the current state of the law concerning admission of other crimes evidence in Missouri. The case illustrates the difficulty in applying current …