Law Commons^™

Evidence, Marc T. Treadwell

Mercer Law Review

The most significant development in Georgia evidence law during the survey period, as in the past two survey periods, was the continued effort to adopt a new Georgia evidence code based upon the Federal Rules of Evidence. The State Bar of Georgia is firmly committed to the adoption of the Georgia Rules of Evidence and has vigorously lobbied for the proposed rules in each of the past two sessions of the Georgia General Assembly. Although no organized opposition has arisen to the proposed rules, the rules have yet to be adopted. In the 1991 session of the General Assembly, as …

Telling Tales In Court: Trial Procedure And The Story Model, Richard O. Lempert

Articles

There are three ways in which stories may figure prominently at trials. First, litigants may tell stories to jurors. Not only is there some social science evidence that this happens, but trial lawyers have an instinctive sense that this is what they do. Ask a litigator to describe a current case and she is likely to reply, "Our story is ... " Second, jurors may try to make sense of the evidence they receive by fitting it to some story pattern. If so, the process is likely to feed back on itself. That is, jurors are likely to build a …

Some Caveats Concerning Dna As Criminal Identification Evidence: With Thanks To The Reverend Bayes, Richard O. Lempert

Articles

The conference panel at which this paper was originally presented was structured along the lines of a debate. The three speakers who were supposed to advocate the use of DNA evidence were labeled, as is customary, Proponents. But those who were supposed to take the negative side were not called Opponents. Rather they were labeled Caveators. I do not know who is responsible for this label, but I think it gets things exactly right. To my mind anyone considering DNA as criminal identification evidence should be a Caveator. The promise and utility of DNA analysis in identifying the perpetrators of …

The New Criminal Discovery Code In Oklahoma: A Two Way Street In The Wrong Direction, Rodney J. Uphoff

Faculty Publications

This article first examines criminal discovery in Oklahoma prior to the Allen decision. Next, section II of the article explores Allen and the court’s justifications for creating a reciprocal discovery system. The article reviews the Allen procedures and similar pre-trial discovery provisions contained in the American Bar Association’s Standards for Criminal Justice and questions whether Allen’s new discovery system will achieve the desired results. Section II also focuses on the constitutionality of the defendant’s disclosure obligations and the adverse effects of mandating such disclosures on the adversary system. Finally, section III of the article proposes an alternative discovery code based …

The Admissibility Of Hypnotically Enhanced Testimony In Criminal Trials, Gary Shaw

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Idaho V. Wright: The Defenestration Of Corroborating Evidence, John Clairborne Koski

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Modern Confession Law After Duckworth V. Eagan: What's The Use Of Explaining?, Julia C. Weissman

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Evidence, Marc T. Treadwell

Mercer Law Review

The Georgia lawyers among the readers of this Article likely are somewhat familiar with efforts over the past several years to adopt a new Georgia Evidence Code based upon the Federal Rules of Evidence (the "Rules"). The Georgia Evidence Code is Sorely in need of revision. It can be argued that there is no Georgia Evidence Code as such. Indeed, Georgia lawyers must grapple with an amorphous amalgam of disjointed statutes and thousands of judicial decisions that constitute our body of evidence law.

Should Michigan Rule Of Evidence 703 Be Revised?, Brian Benner, Ronald L. Carlson

Popular Media

Technical witnesses regularly assist the fact-finding process in Michigan trials. Jury or bench trials in federal and state courts routinely feature the appearance of experts. Properly policed by our courts, few forms of testimony hold more promise for advancing the truth-seeking function of American litigation. The expanding presence of experts raises hard questions. Are the Michigan rules in turn with modern needs? Should the state rule controlling the basis for expert opinion be aligned with the federal pattern? If Michigan Rule of Evidence 703 could stand revision, does proper alteration require significant additions not presently contained in either state or …

Criminal Discovery, Scientific Evidence, And Dna, Paul C. Giannelli

Vanderbilt Law Review

"At bottom the case against Claus von Bilow was a scientific case. It would have to be refuted by scientific evidence,"' wrote Alan Dershowitz. The von Bilow case is not alone. Many recent notorious criminal trials involved scientific proof. For example, the prosecution offered hypnotically refreshed testimony and bite mark evidence in the Ted Bundy case. Fiber evidence proved critical in the trial of Wayne Williams for the murder of two of the thirty young black males killed in Atlanta in the late 1970s.' Other illustrations include the pathology and serology testimony in the Jean Harris trial, the forensic analysis …

Maryland V. Craig: Ignoring The Letter And Purpose Of The Confrontation Clause, Anthony S. Parise

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

The American Jury At Twenty-Five Years, Valerie P. Hans, Neil Vidmar

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The year 1991 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of Harry Kalven, Jr. and Hans Zeisel's classic work, The American Jury. Arguably one of the most important books in the field of law and social science, this research monograph began the modrn field of jury studies and deeply influenced contemporary understanding of the jury as an institution.

In this essay we assess the book from the vantage point of a quarter- century. First, we provide a historical backdrop by reviewing the activities of the University of Chicago's Jury Project that led to the publication of The American Jury …

Drug Testing And Welfare: Taking The Drug War To Unconstitutional Limits?, Philippa M. Guthrie

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Case & Statute Comments, Search And Seizure-Search Warrants-Identification Of Confidential Informants, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

Social Science And The Courts: The Role Of Amicus Curiae Briefs, Ronald G. Roesch, Stephen L. Golding, Valerie P. Hans, N. Dickon Reppucci

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Social scientists have increasingly become involved in the submission of amicus curiae or "friend of the court" briefs in legal cases being decided by state and federal courts. This increase has triggered considerable debate about the use of briefs to communicate relevant social science research. This article evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of various methods of summarizing social science research for the courts. It also reviews the procedures for submitting briefs developed by the American Psychology-Law Society which, in collaboration with the American Psychological Association, has submitted its first brief in Maryland v. Craig, a case recently decided by …

Challenging Public Investigative Reports: How To Fight The Hearsay Exception, Steven P. Grossman, Stephen J. Shapiro

All Faculty Scholarship

This paper discusses how attorneys can argue against having government and public reports admitted into evidence at trial that would be damaging to their client. When this paper was done, such reports were admitted via Federal Rule of Evidence 803(8)(C). The authors argue that it is possible to challenge admission of factual findings in public reports despite various court decisions which make this difficult.

The "Whys" And "Whynots" Of Judicial Comments On Evidence In Jury Trials, Allen Hartman Justice

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Successful Shadowboxing: The Art Of Impeaching Hearsay Declarants, The Honorable Anthony M. Brannon

Campbell Law Review

Using the nine modes of impeachment recognized by the common law, I will examine some of the possibilities for impeaching hearsay declarants. As I explore each mode, I will discuss whether extrinsic, as well as intrinsic, evidence may be used to impeach the hearsay evidence.

Obscured Visions: Policy, Power, And Discretion In Transnational Discovery, David J. Gerber

All Faculty Scholarship

This Essay addresses issues involving the discovery of information located outside the United States. Specifically, it deals with some of the problems created by the lack of appropriate limits on United States discovery procedures. Professor Gerber first analyzes the extent of judicial discretion in the United States in matters concerning extraterritorial discovery. The analysis encompasses the underlying legal bases for the exercise of discretion as well as the political and institutional factors that influence the uses of discretion.

Next, the Essay focuses on the international consequences of the virtually unlimited discretion courts in the United States exercise in discovery matter. …

United States V. Piccinonna: The Eleventh Circuit Adds Another Approach To Polygraph Evidence In The Federal System, W. Thomas Halbleib

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Exigent Circumstances Exception To The Warrant Requirement, H. Patrick Furman

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Admissibility Of Dna Evidence, David H. Kaye

Journal Articles

In contrast to the widespread acceptance of red blood cell grouping, blood serum protein and enzyme analysis, and HLA typing, the evidentiary status of forensic applications of recombinant-DNA technology is in flux. A proper evidentiary analysis must attend to the fact that there is no single method of DNA typing. As with the more established genetic tests, the probative value of the laboratory findings depends both on the procedure employed and the genetic characteristics that are discerned. This paper describes some of these procedures and the theory that lies behind them, and then considers the developing case law. Given the …

Credal Probability, David H. Kaye

Journal Articles

This article responds to Paul Bergman and Al Moore's doubt that ideal triers of facts would be Bayesians. They argue that Bayes' rule, and probability theory in general, fails as a theoretical factfinding model. While probability has long been an accepted measure of belief in empirical propositions and the validity of inductive arguments, this articles addresses Bergman and Moore's doubts directly. It shows how their examples demonstrating the "frequentist" character of Bayesian methodology or the fallacies in Bayesian analysis are easily handled without a frequentist interpretation of probability. Then it shows that an ideal juror's partial beliefs will conform to …

Evidence Engendered, Kit Kinports

Journal Articles

Part I of this article briefly describes feminist legal theory and its evolution. Part II then discusses the extent to which evidence as a whole is a gendered topic that reflects predominantly male traits and ideals, and Part III analyzes various specific evidentiary doctrines from a feminist perspective. Finally, Part IV examines way of incorporating feminist theories in teaching an evidence course.

Obscured Visions: Policy, Power, And Discretion In Transnational Discovery, David J. Gerber

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Essay addresses issues involving the discovery of information located outside the United States. Specifically, it deals with some of the problems created by the lack of appropriate limits on United States discovery procedures. Professor Gerber first analyzes the extent of judicial discretion in the United States in matters concerning extraterritorial discovery. The analysis encompasses the underlying legal bases for the exercise of discretion as well as the political and institutional factors that influence the uses of discretion.

Next, the Essay focuses on the international consequences of the virtually unlimited discretion courts in the United States exercise in discovery matters. …

United States Punitive Damage Awards In German Courts: The Evolving German Position On Service And Enforcement, Klaus J. Beucher, John B. Sandage

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article addresses the problems United States plaintiffs may face when seeking enforcement of United States court awards of punitive damages in German courts. The authors show the close relationship between service of process and subsequent enforcement procedures in Germany. The analysis focuses on two recent German court decisions that provide indications of how German courts might respond to requests to serve process and to enforce judgments in actions seeking punitive or multiple damages. The fundamentally different approaches to punitive damages taken by the German and the United States legal systems create the difficulties encountered when these two systems intersect. …

Evidence, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

This article addresses some of the more significant evidence cases decided by the Fifth Circuit during the survey period.' Before turning to the cases themselves, it is important to note at the outset that like other federal courts, the Fifth Circuit is generally not inclined to reverse a case on an evidentiary error. It should not be surprising then that in most of the cases which follow, the court implicitly deferred to the decision of the trial judge in deciding whether a certain piece of evidence was admissible.

Refocusing The New Evidence Scholarship : A Comment On Robert S. Thompson's "Decision, Disciplined Inferences And The Adversary Process", Terence J. Anderson

Articles

No abstract provided.

Evidence Scholarship, Old And New, Roger C. Park

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Hearsay In State Administrative Hearings: The Maryland Experience And Suggestions For Change, Arnold Rochvarg

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.