Evidence Commons^™

What About The Children? Are Family Lawyers The Same (Ethically) As Criminal Lawyers? A Morality Play, Robert H. Aronson

Articles

A fictional account of a lawyer, representing a woman in a divorce case, who learns from her client that her live-in boyfriend has hit her and her five-year-old daughter. Is her ethical duty to protect the child greater than her responsibility to maintain the attorney-client privilege. She discusses the matter with two evidence professors in search of a solution.

Experts, Judges, And Commentators: The Underlying Debate About An Expert's Underlying Data, Ronald L. Carlson

Scholarly Works

Debate concerning the limits of judicial power over expert witnesses remains active and in its early states. Commentators charting the course of judicial opinions observe that some of the modern regulatory proposals have yet to enlist official adoption. Part of the problem may relate to recognition of questions. Courts will adjudicate critical issues only when they are made aware of them. The burden of calling attention to an expert's flawed bases falls squarely on trial lawyers who must make astute and incisive objections.

In this formative period of legal development important decisions will be made. The future direction of courtroom …

Medical Desk Book For Lawyers, Oregon Law Institute, D. Lawrence Wobbrock, David K. Miller, Richard E. Talbott, Peter C. Richter, Steven P. Jones, David C. Landis, Gayle L. Troutwine, Robert P. Jones, Robert J. Neuberger, Robert W. Pardington, David K. Miller, Larry N. Sokol, William A. Barton

Oregon Law Institute, 1996

No abstract provided.

Admissibility Of Investigatory Reports In § 1983 Civil Rights Actions - A User's Manual, Martin A. Schwartz

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Expert Testimony On Juror Decision Making In Eyewitness Identification Cases, Pamela J. Sullivan

Theses : Honours

The provision of expert testimony for the defence has been demonstrated to sensitise jurors to the variables that may reduce the reliability of an eyewitness identification (Cutler, Dexter, & Penrod, 1989). However, research examining the variables that reduce identification reliability has revealed conflicting findings (Yuille & Cutshall, 1986). Given this disparity in psychological opinion, a situation may arise where opposing expert testimony for the prosecution and the defence is delivered within the same criminal trial This thesis examined the effect of each form of expert testimony about eyewitness identification issues on the decision of the individual juror. The decision making …

Evidence, Marc T. Treadwell

Mercer Law Review

1. Objections
2. Relevancy
3. Privilege
4. Witnesses
5. Opinion Testimony
6. Hearsay
7. Authentication

New Federal Rules In Sex Offense Cases, Lynn Mclain

All Faculty Scholarship

This article from the November/December 1995 issue of the Maryland Bar Journal details the changes made to the Federal Rules of Evidence following the enactment of the 1994 Comprehensive Crime Bill. Questions raised by the new rules and the response of the Judicial Conference are also discussed.

Third-Party Modification Of Protective Orders Under Rule 26©, Patrick S. Kim

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that similarly situated litigants always should be given access to protected discovered materials, while nonlitigants should gain access to protected materials only in exceptional circumstances. This approach effectively balances the privacy and property interests of the original parties and the intervening parties with the interests of adjudicative efficiency. Part I establishes that there is no general public right of access to civil discovery and that courts should disregard such purported rights when considering whether to modify a protective order. Part II identifies three interests that courts should weigh when considering whether to modify a protective order: the …

Evidence: Facing The Hardest Issues, Oregon Law Institute, Paula A. Barran, Laird C. Kirkpatrick, Christopher B. Mueller

Oregon Law Institute, 1995

Course Materials from the November 17, 1995 Program in Portland

Conditional Probative Value And The Reconstruction Of The Federal Rules Of Evidence, Dale A. Nance

Michigan Law Review

In a recent article, Richard Friedman articulates a modified and generalized version of the doctrine of conditional relevance, which he calls "conditional probative value." This version comes in response to a substantial body of academic criticism of the traditional doctrine. As one of the critics to whom Professor Friedman responds, I offer this reply with two purposes in mind: (1) to clarify the relationship between Friedman's analysis and my earlier reinterpretation of the conditional relevance doctrine; and (2) to address Friedman's specific proposals with regard to the Federal Rules of Evidence. I conclude that Friedman's articulation helps clarify the logic …

Defending Duii Charges, Oregon Law Institute, Clarence E. Lankins, William Uhle, Robert G. Thuemmel, John Henry Hingson Iii, Erin K. Olson, Michael H. Marcus, John Powers, Nancy L. Macklin, Douglas A. Brown, Edward Jones, Frederick Lenzser

Oregon Law Institute, 1995

Course Materials from the October 6, 1995 Program in Portland

Dna Profiling In North Carolina, James Morgan

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Using Leading Questions During Direct Examination, Charles W. Ehrhardt, Stephanie J. Young

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

"X-Spurt" Witnesses, Richard H. Underwood

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In this article the author pulls together a history of expert witnesses in common law systems. Various issues are explored regarding expert witness testimony, including: the historical underpinnings of the practice, how Daubert controls that issue in modern times, rules of evidence, psychological science, and professional ethics.

The Flexible Doctrine Of Spoliation Of Evidence; Cause Of Action, Defense, Evidentiary Presumption And Discovery Sanction, Robert L. Tucker

Akron Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Ethics Of Witness Coaching, Richard C. Wydick

Cardozo Law Review

This Article focuses on the ethics of coaching cooperative lay witnesses (not adversary witnesses or expert witnesses). It discusses mostly United States law, but the problems it discusses exist also in England and other nations that use the common law adversary system. As used here, "witness coaching" means conduct by a lawyer that alters a witness's story about the events in question. Usually witness coaching occurs when a lawyer is interviewing a witness in the course of investigating the facts of the case or when a lawyer is preparing a witness to testify at a deposition or trial. Interviewing a …

She’S Gotta Have It Now: A Qualified Rape Crisis Counselor-Victim Privilege, Euphemia B. Warren

Cardozo Law Review

This Note analyzes the justifications for a testimonial privilege for communications between a rape victim and her counselor. More importantly, it contends that a qualified privilege sufficiently protects the counselor-victim relationship and the rape victim's need for confidentiality, while at the same time securing the defendant's Sixth Amendment rights. This Note endorses a qualified privilege that requires a specific showing by the defendant that the information he seeks might be helpful to his case before the trial judge will conduct an in camera inspection of the confidential rape counseling records. In the in camera review, the judge will determine whether …

No Magic Formula: A New Approach For Calculating The Ten Year Time Period For Admission Of Prior Conviction Evidence, Amy E. Sloan

All Faculty Scholarship

Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 609 governs admission of prior conviction evidence. Under this rule, it is easier to admit evidence of a prior conviction that is less than ten years old than to admit evidence of older convictions. The ten year period is measured from the later of either the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement.

Calculating the ten year period is fairly straightforward in most cases but becomes confusing when the witness has been confined for violating the terms of probation, parole, or some other period of conditional release. Does the confinement for violation …

Hewitt V. Kalish: Qualifying As An "Expert Competent To Testify" Under O.C.G.A Section 9-11-9.1, Richard T. Hills

Mercer Law Review

In Hewett v. Kalish, plaintiff, Hewett, sued Kalish, a podiatrist, for the negligent treatment of her tarsal tunnel syndrome condition. As required by Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 9-11-9.1, plaintiff filed with her complaint the affidavit of an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Alan D. Davis. The affidavit set forth Dr. Davis' professional credentials, his hospital affiliations, and his curriculum vitae. The relevant portion of the affidavit provided:

I am... competent to testify as an expert on behalf of [plaintiff] in an action for professional malpractice arising out of the diagnosis, care and treatment of [plaintiff] from January 1988 through …

Evidence, Marc T. Treadwell

Mercer Law Review

In recent past evidence surveys, the author has suggested, perhaps presumptuously, that the Eleventh Circuit has markedly decreased its level of scrutiny of district court evidentiary decisions. It appears that in most cases, the Eleventh Circuit is willing to defer broadly to the discretion afforded district judges in evidentiary rulings. As a result, the number of Eleventh Circuit decisions in which evidentiary issues played a predominant part has decreased. Decisions rendered by the Eleventh Circuit during the current survey period suggest that the court is allocating its resources to evidentiary issues in which appellate guidance is broadly needed rather than …

The Presumption Of Innocence Imperiled: The New Federal Rules Of Evidence 413-415 And The Use Of Other Sexual-Offense Evidence In Washington, Jeffrey G. Pickett

Washington Law Review

The U.S. Congress has provisionally enacted three new federal rules of evidence (FRE). In cases of sexual assault or child molestation, FRE 413-415 allow the use, for any relevant purpose, of sexual assault or child molestation evidence not charged in the indictment or information. The new rules would operate in contravention of the traditional prohibition against using evidence of other misconduct for the purpose of proving that the defendant acted in conformity with a particular character trait on the occasion in question. This Comment surveys the arguments for and against the proposed changes. It concludes that Washington should not elect …

The Admissibiity Of Inculpatory Statements In Washington Under The Rule For Declarations Against Interest After Williamson V. United States, Julianna Gortner

Washington Law Review

Washington courts hold that where a statement by an unavailable declarant, offered in the trial of a third party inculpated by the statement, is predominantly disserving to the declarant's penal interest, the statement is admissible under the hearsay exception for declarations against interest. Federal courts have split on the admissibility of such declarations, with some courts holding that any non-disserving portions must be severed and excluded. In Williamson v. United States, the United States Supreme Court narrowed the scope of Federal Rule of Evidence 804(b)(3) on declarations against interest and held that only the individual portions of such statements that …

Is The Doctor Hostile--Obstructive Impairments And The Hostility Rule In Federal Black Lung Claims, Timothy F. Cogan

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Federal Rules Of Evidence--Past, Present, And Future: A Twenty-Year Perspective, Faust Rossi

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This Essay surveys three major transformations in state and federal rules of evidence since the introduction of the Federal Rules of Evidence. The Rules have not only inspired a movement toward codification in the states, they have also liberalized the admission of expert testimony and hearsay. This partially explains thirteen states' reluctance to codify. Judges have furthered this trend by admitting far more discretionary hearsay evidence than Congress intended. Professor Rossi doubts this expansion of the hearsay exceptions would have occurred without the adoption of the FRE and suggests that the newly formed Advisory Committee will produce greater substantive changes …

Techniques And Tactics In Personal Injury Trials, Oregon Law Institute, Jodie Anne Bushman, Jeffrey S. Mutnick, Frank A. Moscato, Stephen F, English, Bruce R. Powell, Robert D. Dames Jr., Diana I. Stuart, Gerald C. Doblie, Craig C. Murphy, Judy D. Snyder

Oregon Law Institute, 1995

Course Materials from the April 14, 1995 Program in Portland

A Six Step Analysis Of Other Purposes Evidence Pursuant To Rule 404(B) Of The North Carolina Rules Of Evidence, T. M. Ringer Jr.

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bitter Battles: The Use Of Psychological Evaluations In Child Custody Disputes In West Virginia, Alison Richey Mcburney

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Abandoning New York's "General Acceptance" Requirement: Redesigning Proposed Rule Of Evidence 702(B) After Daubert V. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Stuart J. Graham

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Opening The Door To The Grand Jury: Abandoning Secrecy For Secrecy's Sake, George Edward Dazzo

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

The grand jury in the United States is hailed by its proponents as an indispensable buffer of protection from malicious and unfounded prosecution by the State. Critics, however, liken the investigatory body to a rubber stamp of the prosecutor, analogous to early English grand jurors who were subject to the influences of the Monarch. Criticism of the grand jury often focuses on the grand jury's potential for oppression rather than protection of the individual.' In particular, it is the secrecy of the grand jury that sparks the most debate.'

The Advocate's Conflicting Obligations Vis-A.-Vis Adverse Medical Evidence In Social Security Proceedings, Robert E. Rains

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.