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Full-Text Articles in Evidence
The Liar’S Mark: Character And Forfeiture In Federal Rule Of Evidence 609(A)(2), Jesse Schupack
The Liar’S Mark: Character And Forfeiture In Federal Rule Of Evidence 609(A)(2), Jesse Schupack
Michigan Law Review
Rule 609(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Evidence is an outlier. The Rule mandates admission of impeaching evidence of a witness’s past convictions for crimes of dishonesty. It is the only place in the Rules where judges are denied their usual discretion to exclude evidence on the grounds that its admission would be more prejudicial than probative. This Note analyzes three assumptions underlying this unusual Rule: (1) that there is a coherently definable category of crimes of dishonesty, (2) that convictions for crimes of dishonesty are uniquely probative of a person’s character, and (3) that an assessment of moral character …
Reliability Of Expert Evidence In International Disputes, Matthew W. Swinehart
Reliability Of Expert Evidence In International Disputes, Matthew W. Swinehart
Michigan Journal of International Law
Part I of this article traces the historical trends in the use of expert evidence in international disputes, from the scattered reliance on experts in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to the ubiquity of experts in modern disputes. With that perspective, Part II examines how decision makers have attempted to ensure reliability of the expert evidence that is flooding the evidentiary records of international disputes, while Part III outlines the many problems that still remain. Finally, Part IV proposes a non-exhaustive and nonbinding checklist of questions for analyzing the reliability of any type of expert evidence.
Sweet Caroline: The Backslide From Federal Rule Of Evidence 613(B) To The Rule In Queen Caroline's Case, Katharine T. Schaffzin
Sweet Caroline: The Backslide From Federal Rule Of Evidence 613(B) To The Rule In Queen Caroline's Case, Katharine T. Schaffzin
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Since 1975, Rule 613(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence has governed the admission of extrinsic evidence of a prior inconsistent statement in federal court. Rule 613(b) requires the proponent of the prior inconsistent statement to provide the declarant an opportunity to explain or deny it. There is no requirement that the proponent provide that opportunity at any particular time or in any particular sequence. Rule 613 reflected a change from the common law that had fallen out of fashion in the federal courts. That common law rule, known as the Rule in Queen Caroline’s Case, required the proponent of …
A Model For Fixing Identification Evidence After Perry V. New Hampshire, Robert Couch
A Model For Fixing Identification Evidence After Perry V. New Hampshire, Robert Couch
Michigan Law Review
Mistaken eyewitness identifications are the leading cause of wrongful convictions. In 1977, a time when the problems with eyewitness identifications had been acknowledged but were not yet completely understood, the Supreme Court announced a test designed to exclude unreliable eyewitness evidence. This standard has proven inadequate to protect against mistaken identifications. Despite voluminous scientific studies on the failings of eyewitness identification evidence and the growing number of DNA exonerations, the Supreme Court's outdated reliability test remains in place today. In 2012, in Perry v. New Hampshire, the Supreme Court commented on its standard for evaluating eyewitness evidence for the first …
The Unreliability Of Testimony From A Witness With Multiple Personality Disorder (Mpd): Why Courts Must Acknowledge The Connection Between Hypnosis And Mpd And Adopt A “Per Se” Rule Of Exclusion For Mpd Testimony, Mark Anthony Miller
Pepperdine Law Review
No abstract provided.
"An Opportunity For Effective Cross-Examination": Limits On The Confrontation Right Of The Pro Se Defendant, Alanna Clair
"An Opportunity For Effective Cross-Examination": Limits On The Confrontation Right Of The Pro Se Defendant, Alanna Clair
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The rights of a defendant to confront his accusers and conduct his defense without the assistance of counsel are sacrosanct in the American judicial system. The rights of the defendant are even sometimes exalted at the expense of the rights of the public or of victims of crime. This Note examines the problem of a pro se defendant using his confrontation right to intimidate or harass his alleged victims testifying against him. It is well-established that the confrontation right is not unconditional. The problem comes in determining whether the courts can place limits on the confrontation right of a pro …
Proposed Amendments To Fed. R. Crim. P. 26: An Exchange: Remote Testimony - A Prosecutor's Perspective, Lynn Helland
Proposed Amendments To Fed. R. Crim. P. 26: An Exchange: Remote Testimony - A Prosecutor's Perspective, Lynn Helland
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Although the Supreme Court has declined, for now, to endorse the Judicial Conference proposal to add a Rule 26(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to permit live video testimony under limited circumstances, I agree with Professor Friedman that the matter is far from over. This is both because the potential benefits to be realized from the use of remote video testimony are too large to ignore and because, on closer inspection, any Confrontation Clause concerns that might underlie the Court's hesitation to adopt the proposal are not warranted. My purpose in writing is to summarize some of the …
Rule 412: Sex Offense Cases; Relevance Of Alleged Victim's Past Sexual Behavior Or Alleged Sexual Disposition
Touro Law Review
No abstract provided.
The Supreme Court Rules On Statements Against Interest, Michael M. Martin
The Supreme Court Rules On Statements Against Interest, Michael M. Martin
Touro Law Review
No abstract provided.
Videotaping Children's Testimony: An Empirical View, Paula E. Hill, Samuel M. Hill
Videotaping Children's Testimony: An Empirical View, Paula E. Hill, Samuel M. Hill
Michigan Law Review
Increases in the number of reported incidents of child abuse and sexual molestation have resulted in more and younger children becoming courtroom participants. Some courts refuse to consider the special needs of the child in this adversarial environment. Relying on questionable precedent, these courts hold that the defendant's right to directly confront the child, as well as strict compliance with evidentiary rules, overrides that child's interest in freedom from embarrassment or psychological trauma. This Note focuses on pressures felt by the testifying child and the ways in which these pressures affect her testimony; it then proposes using videotaped testimony as …
Legal Psychology: Eyewitness Testimony--Jury Behavior, Michigan Law Review
Legal Psychology: Eyewitness Testimony--Jury Behavior, Michigan Law Review
Michigan Law Review
A Review of Legal Psychology: Eyewitness Testimony--Jury Behavior by L. Craig Parker
A Reconsideration Of The Sworn Testimony Requirement: Securing Truth In The Twentieth Century, Michigan Law Review
A Reconsideration Of The Sworn Testimony Requirement: Securing Truth In The Twentieth Century, Michigan Law Review
Michigan Law Review
The purpose of this Note is relatively modest-to explore whether the traditional uncritical confidence placed in the sworn nature of testimony is justified in light of twentieth-century practice. As such, its intention is not to propose legal reforms, but rather to invite its readers to pause and reconsider a ritual too often taken for granted by the legal profession. To this end, this Note will examine the following factors influencing the character of the oath in modern times: the common-law and religious roots of the oath, the rise of nonreligious affirmation within the last century, the relationship between the oath …
Criminal Procedure--Evidence--Composite Drawing Not Producible Under Jencks Act--United States V. Zurita, Michigan Law Review
Criminal Procedure--Evidence--Composite Drawing Not Producible Under Jencks Act--United States V. Zurita, Michigan Law Review
Michigan Law Review
Following a bank robbery, the bank manager and his wife provided descriptions enabling an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to compose drawings of the robbers which were then "approved" by each of these witnesses as being substantially accurate. At the defendant's trial four years later, he was identified by the manager and his wife as one of the robbers. The defendant, in an attempt to impeach their testimony, requested that the government be compelled under the Jencks Act to produce the original composite drawings. The trial court denied this request, stating that the production of these drawings was …
Evidence--Medical Treatises To Be Admitted As Direct Evidence In Wisconsin--Lewandowski V. Preferred Risk Mutual Ins. Co., Michigan Law Review
Evidence--Medical Treatises To Be Admitted As Direct Evidence In Wisconsin--Lewandowski V. Preferred Risk Mutual Ins. Co., Michigan Law Review
Michigan Law Review
Defendant's attorney in a personal injury action sought on cross-examination to impeach plaintiff's physician regarding his determination of the degree of plaintiff's disability by referring to the medical standards set forth in the American Medical Association's Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment--The Extremities and Back. Pointing to the physician's testimony that he had not relied on the Guide in making his evaluation, the trial court sustained plaintiff's objection that such cross-examination was not permissible. On appeal, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the trial court was correct in sustaining the objection in accordance with the established rule that it …
Evidence - Admissibility Of Hospital Records As Business Entries, John S. Pennell
Evidence - Admissibility Of Hospital Records As Business Entries, John S. Pennell
Michigan Law Review
Following the report of the Commonwealth Fund Committee, in which they advocated the adoption of a model act to govern the admission of business entries as evidence, a comparatively small number of states have enacted legislation of this kind, either the model act or an act of similar nature. The extent of this comment is to show: (1) in what states hospital records have been held not to be admissible as business entries, the states where there has been no decision on the subject, and the states where the status of the rule is in doubt; (2) the states where …