Evidence Commons^™

Survey Of Developments In West Virginia Law: 1978

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Parent-Child Privilege: Constitutional Right Or Specious Analogy?, Donald Cofer

Seattle University Law Review

To avoid reaching incorrect verdicts as a result of insufficient evidence, courts generally require witnesses to testify to all relevant facts within their knowledge. Two important exceptions to this general rule, incompetency and privilege, rest on very different rationales. Developed at common law to exclude unreliable evidence, rules of competency disqualify certain untrustworthy witnesses from testifying. To promote extrinsic public policies, however, privileges excuse competent witnesses from providing what may be highly probative and reliable evidence. In the past decade there have been calls for legislative or judicial recognition of a parent-child privilege, similar to the marital privilege, that would …

State Medical Malpractice Screening Panels In Federal Diversity Actions, Vincent C. Alexander

Faculty Publications

During the early 1970's, a medical malpractice crisis was perceived in the United States. An increasing number of costly and time-consuming lawsuits alleging medical malpractice against doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers caused malpractice insurers to raise premiums substantially, which in turn threatened to curtail the availability of adequate health care at reasonable cost. State legislatures responded to the crisis with a variety of substantive and procedural measures intended to reduce the number of litigated claims and the size of jury awards. One of the principal steps taken in a majority of states was the creation of extrajudicial panels …

Confessions Of A Horizontalist: A Dialogue On The First Amendment, Larry Yackle

Faculty Scholarship

It is hardly surprising that the Supreme Court has never developed a satisfying theory of the first amendment. Free speech and press problems are many and varied, demanding the most delicate balance of interests in order to preserve a system of freedom of expression and at the same time afford proper respect for competing governmental objectives. Doctrine adapted to one medium of expression may not sit well when applied to others. With the passage of time, changes in technology, economic conditions, and the very nature of expression tend to outstrip the Court's ability to keep pace with doctrinal innovations. There …

"To Decide The Case At Hand": Benjamin N. Cardozo, Monrad G. Paulsen

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

From The Mouths Of Babes: Does The Constitutional Right Of Privacy Mandate A Parent-Child Privilege?

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Commonwealth Of Massachusetts V. White, Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

Presumptive Possession Of Weapons: New York's Controversial Statute, Murray N. Caplan

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Unprivileged Status Of The Fifth Amendment Privilege, Mark Berger

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Constitutional Protection Of Private Papers: The Role Of A Hierarchical Fourth Amendment, James A. Mckenna

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Survey Of Developments In West Virginia Law: 1976

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Interrogation And The Sixth Amendment: The Case For Restriction Of Capacity To Waive The Right To Counsel, Patrick S. Brady

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Shield Laws: The Legislative Response To Journalistic Privilege, Susan L. Dolin

Cleveland State Law Review

Despite the increasing importance of the journalist in society, one controversy which has long been of significant concern to reporters has yet to be resolved - the compelled disclosure of journalistic sources in courtroom or grand jury proceedings. Threatened with citation for contempt, the journalist in such situations must often face two equally unacceptable alternatives: divulge a confidential source, or go to jail. To circumvent conflicts of this nature, the journalistic profession has urged the adoption of an evidentiary privilege which would protect reporters from compelled disclosure of confidential sources. This Note will focus on one means of instituting such …

The Fourth Amendment And Foreign Searches: A Standard For The Admission Of Evidence

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Fifth Amendment And The Production Of Documents: A New Rationale, Lucretia C. Irby

University of Richmond Law Review

During its last term, the Supreme Court decided two cases involving the production of documents and papers; one involved the use of a search warrant, the other a subpoena duces tecum. Both cases raised the fifth amendment issues. In both instances, the Supreme Court found no violation of the privilege against self-incrimination.

Foreword: Brewer V. Williams--A Hard Look At A Discomfiting Record, Yale Kamisar

Articles

In recent decades, few matters have split the Supreme Court, troubled the legal profession, and agitated the public as much as the police interrogation-confession cases. The recent case of Brewer v. Williams3 is as provocative as any, because the Supreme Court there revdrsed the defendant's conviction for the "savage murder of a small child" even though no Justice denied his guilt,4 he was warned of his rights no fewer than five times, 5 and any "interrogation" that might have occurred seemed quite mild.6

An Evidence Code: The American Experience, Paul F. Rothstein

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Professor Paul Rothstien's opening address at the Conference on Current Trends in Evidence, Dalhousie University, 26th November 1976.

Rothstein discusses the American Evidence Code, the American experience with it, and compares it to a proposed Code that Canada is considering.

Survey Of Developments In West Virginia Law: 1975-1976, Lloyd George Jackson Ii, John Burdick Koch, Alan Dale Moats, Thomas A. Vorbach

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Administrative Law: Due Process Requirements Of Notice And Hearing Apply To Native Claims Under Administrative Procedure Act; Civil Rights: Challenging Tribal Membership Ordinance; Criminal Law: Nor Prejudice To Indian Defendant Sentenced Under State Due To Additional Or Alternative Fina Authorized By Federal Statute; Due Process: Tribal Elections And The Indian Civil Rights Act; Environment: Standing Of Non-Indians To Challenge Validity Of Coal Leases On Indian Land; Evidence: Indian Concept Of "Toka" As Concerning Issues Of Provocation And Justification; Indian Civil Rights Act: Residency Requirements For Tribal Political Office Upheld; Indian Lands: Quiet Title Action By Indian Allottees Against Railroad Holding Easement In The Nature Of A Limited Fee; Jurisdiction: Adoption Where All Parties Are Residents Of An Indian Reservation; Jurisdiction: New Mexico State Constitution As Affecting Adjudication Of Indian Water Rights; Taxation: State Right Of Taxation On Reservations When Commerce Effectuated Between Indians And Non-Indians

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Compulsory Process Ii, Peter Westen

Michigan Law Review

This Article examines the validity of the conventional wisdom. It draws support for its analysis from the constitutional principles of compulsory process, and, in their absence, from related doctrine in the areas of a defendant's right to confront witnesses against him and his right to a fair trial. Part I of the article defines the constitutional standard that governs the simple case of a nonindigent defendant who makes a timely application to produce a witness from within the territory of the jurisdiction. Parts II through IV, in turn, examine that standard in the light of complicating factors such as the …

Constitutional Restraints On The Exclusion Of Evidence In The Defendant's Favor: The Implications Of Davis V. Alaska, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note, first, examines the Davis methodology for determining whether a foreclosed line of cross-examination warrants protection by the confrontation clause, and suggests a test employable by reviewing courts for making that determination. Then, the Note sketches the contours of the clash, prefigured by Davis, between the right of confrontation and the limitations on cross-examination that result from both the assertion of testimonial privileges and trial court relevance rulings.

Expanding Defendant's Discovery: The Jencks Act At Pretrial Hearings, David B. Olney

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Compulsory Process Clause, Peter Westen

Michigan Law Review

Part I of this article traces the history of compulsory process, from its origin in the English transition from an inquisitional to an adversary system of procedure to its eventual adoption in the American Bill of Rights. Part II examines the Supreme Court's seminal decision in Washington v. Texas, which recognized after a century and a half of silence that the compulsory process clause was designed to enable the defendant not only to produce witnesses, but to put them on the stand and have them heard. Part III studies the implications of compulsory process for the defendant's case, from the …

Stanton V. Stanton, Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

Evidence—New York Press Shield Law Applies Only When Confidential Relationship Exists Between A Newsman And His Source., Robert L. Nisely

Buffalo Law Review

WBAI-FM v. Proskin, 42 App. Div. 2d 5, 344 N.Y.S.2d 393 (3d Dep't 1973).

A Drug Addict's Right To Anonymity, Anthony A. Desabato

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The Use Of In Camera Hearings In Ruling On The Informer Privilege, Ronald E. Levine

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The thesis of this article is that most of the problems of defining the scope of the privilege in a particular case are due to the paucity of information available to the trial judge who must rule on the issue. Furthermore, many of the formulas presently used are conceptually and functionally inadequate. Both of these problems can be solved by the use of in camera hearings, for such proceedings not only will provide the trial judge with sufficient information to make a fair and rational decision, but will also alleviate the present necessity to rule only on the basis of …

The Confrontation Clause And The Scope Of The Unavailability Requirement, Jerry J. Phillips

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The confrontation clause is that language of the sixth amendment to the United States Constitution which provides, "[I]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right… to be confronted with the witnesses against him." Despite the seemingly absolute language of the confrontation clause, which would suggest that no hearsay evidence may be admitted against an accused in a criminal proceeding, its guarantee has been subject to exception. For example, when either a witness to an event or his testimony is shown to be unavailable, others will be allowed to testify as to the information which the declarant-witness has related …

Vlandis V. Kline, Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

Georgia V. United States, Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.