Evidence Commons^™

Educating For The Future: Teaching Evidence In The Technological Age, Denise H. Wong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The advent of the technological age has had significant effect on litigation practice, none more so than in the area of evidence gathering and presentation in court. A significant proportion of evidence that is gathered for both criminal and civil matters is now electronic in nature, and this necessitates a change in the way that lawyers think and advise on evidential issues. It is argued here that rather than simply focusing on principles relating to the admissibility of evidence in court, the traditional course on evidence law should be modified to equip students with an intellectual framework that conceives of …

Trial By Preview, Bert I. Huang

Faculty Scholarship

It has been an obsession of modern civil procedure to design ways to reveal more before trial about what will happen during trial. Litigants today, as a matter of course, are made to preview the evidence they will use. This practice is celebrated because standard theory says it should induce the parties to settle; why incur the expenses of trial, if everyone knows what will happen? Rarely noted, however, is one complication: The impact of previewing the evidence is intertwined with how well the parties know their future audience-that is, the judge or the jury who will be the finder …

Narrative, Truth, And Trial, Lisa Kern Griffin

Faculty Scholarship

This Article critically evaluates the relationship between constructing narratives and achieving factual accuracy at trials. The story model of adjudication— according to which jurors process testimony by organizing it into competing narratives—has gained wide acceptance in the descriptive work of social scientists and currency in the courtroom, but it has received little close attention from legal theorists. The Article begins with a discussion of the meaning of narrative and its function at trial. It argues that the story model is incomplete, and that “legal truth” emerges from a hybrid of narrative and other means of inquiry. As a result, trials …

Authentication Of Social Media Evidence, Paul W. Grimm, Lisa Yurwit Bergstrom, Melissa M. O'Toole-Loureiro

Faculty Scholarship

The authentication of social media evidence has become a prevalent issue in litigation today, creating much confusion and disarray for attorneys and judges. By exploring the current inconsistencies among courts' decisions, this Article demonstrates the importance of the interplay between Federal Rules of Evidence 901, 104(a), 104(b), and 401-all essential rules for determining the admissibility and authentication of social media evidence. Most importantly, this Article concludes by offering valuable and practical suggestions for attorneys to authenticate social media evidence successfully.

The Degrading Character Rule In American Criminal Trials, Paul S. Milich

Georgia Law Review

The rule prohibiting evidence of the accused's bad
character is steadily degrading as courts and legislatures
expand existing exceptions and add new ones. In Georgia,

we saw the rule almost disappear as trial courts blithely
admitted a defendant's past crimes to prove his or her
"bent of mind" to commit the crime charged. This Article
examines why the character rule is losing ground.
The thesis is that a rule requiring as much careful
balancing as the character rule needs a clear, strong
justification to hold its own when faced with competing
claims to admit the evidence in the search for …

Searching For Truth In The American Law Of Evidence And Proof, D. Michael Risinger

Georgia Law Review

The ideology of the trial process puts discovery of truth
at center stage. This is made clear by the language of
Federal Rule of Evidence 102, upon which New Georgia
Rule of Evidence 24-1-1 is obviously based. Both of these
rules make the ascertainment of truth one of the two goals
of the trial (just determination being the other). However,
the term "truth" has been used in many ways in many
different contexts and traditions. What notion of truth did
the drafters have in mind?
This Article answers that question by reference to what
has come to be known as …

Judicial Gatekeeping Of Suspect Evidence: Due Process And Evidentiary Rules In The Age Of Innocence, Keith A. Findley

Georgia Law Review

The growing number of wrongful convictions exposed
over the past two-and-a-half decades, and the research
that points to a few recurring types of flawed evidence in
those cases, raise questions about the effectiveness of the
rules of evidence and the constitutional admissibility
standards that are designed to guard against unreliable
evidence. Drawing on emerging empirical data, this
Article concludes that the system can and should be

adjusted to do a better job of guarding against undue
reliance on flawed evidence. The Article first considers the
role of reliability screening as a constitutional concern.
The wrongful convictions data identify what might …

The (In)Admissibility Of False Confession Expert Testimony, David A. Perez

Touro Law Review

This Comment discusses the relationship between police interrogation tactics and false confessions in order to address the admissibility of false confession expert testimony, a question that has traditionally been left to the discretion of the trial judge. The current literature-indeed, the prevailing consensus-argues for drastic changes to police interrogation practices to prevent false confessions and, in combination with such changes, demands that expert testimony on false confessions be admitted in criminal trials. Despite the relative unanimity in the literature, state and federal courts remain bitterly divided on the question of admissibility of false confession expert testimony. Each decision in this …

Georgia's New Evidence Code: After The Celebration, A Serious Review Of Anticipated Subjects Of Litigation To Be Brought On By The New Legislation, Matthew E. Cook, K. Todd Butler

Mercer Law Review

As January 1, 2013 approaches, the Georgia Bar is anticipating the new Georgia Evidence Code (GEC), House Bill 24, due to take effect on that day. Several authors have canvassed the particular changes the GEC brings to the existing Georgia Rules, of Evidence, as well as the differences between the new GEC and the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE). Those articles are commended for your reading, as they drive not only lawyers' courtroom presentation but also their trial preparation. Rather than rehashing the changes the GEC brings, this Article will address the abbreviated history preceding the passage of House Bill …

Can Law And Literature Be Practical? The Crucible And The Federal Rules Of Evidence, Martin H. Pritikin

West Virginia Law Review

Counter-intuitively, one of the best ways to learn the practice-oriented topic of evidence may be by studying a work of fiction-specifically, Arthur Miller's The Crucible, which dramatizes the seventeenth-century Salem witch trials. The play puts the reader in the position of legal advocate, and invites strategic analysis of evidentiary issues. A close analysis of the dialogue presents an opportunity to explore both the doctrinal nuances of and policy considerations underlying the most important topics covered by the Federal Rules of Evidence, including the mode and order of interrogation, relevance, character evidence and impeachment, opinion testimony, and hearsay.

The Nursing Standard Of Care In Illinois: Rethinking The Wingo Exception In The Wake Of Sullivan V. Edward Hospital, Emily Chase-Sosnoff

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This note analyzes the current circuit split among Illinois courts over whether the same-license requirement for medical expert testimony applies to testimony about the standard of care for nurse-doctor communications. Part I traces the history of the problem by explaining the original same-license requirement, the Wingo exception for nurse-doctor communications, and the Illinois Supreme Court's decision in Sullivan, which cast doubt on Wingo's continued survival. Part II illustrates the nature of the circuit split by describing the lower courts' three distinct interpretations of Sullivan. Finally, Part III argues that courts should apply Sullivan strictly and abandon the Wingo exception because …

Evidence, John E. Hall Jr., W. Scott Henwood, Alex Battey

Mercer Law Review

This year represents the last survey period in which the "old" Georgia Evidence Code, Official Code of Georgia Annotated title 24, reigns. The "new" Georgia Evidence Code, which amends the O.C.G.A. and conforms in large part to the Federal Rules of Evidence, takes effect January 1, 2013. Therefore, next year's survey will undoubtedly report the ways in which Georgia courts have coped with the extensive changes. For now, courts continue to apply the existing Georgia Rules of Evidence. Cases covered in this Article were published between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012, and speak to a variety of topics …

The Incredible Shrinking Confrontation Clause, Jeffrey Bellin

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Sharp turns in the Supreme Court's recent Confrontation Clause jurisprudence have left scholars reeling from conflicting emotions: exhilaration, despair, denial, and soon, perhaps, cynical acceptance. While most commentators celebrated the demise of the incoherent Ohio v. Roberts framework, their excitement largely faded as the Court's decisions in Davis v. Washington and Bryant v. Michigan revealed nascent flaws in the evolving doctrine and sharply curtailed the newly revitalized confrontation right.

Recent scholarship strives to reanimate the jurisprudence by expanding the doctrinal definition of "testimonial" statements - the sole form of evidence Associate Professor, William & Mary Law School. I would like …

Musical Copyright Infringement: The Replacement Of Arnstein V. Porter - A More Comprehensive Use Of Expert Testimony And The Implementation Of An "Actual Audience" Test , Michelle V. Francis

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Medical Evidence In Cases Of Intrauterine Drug And Alcohol Exposure , Judith Larsen, Robert M. Horowitz, Ira J. Chasnoff

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Admissibility Of Dna Genetic Profiling Evidence In Criminal Proceedings: The Case For Caution, Lori L. Swafford

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

State V. Makor Rishon Hameuhad (Hatzofe) Ltd., Elyakim Rubinstein, Isaac Amit, Uzi Vogelman

Translated Opinions

Facts:  A violent demonstration took place at the Ephraim District Brigade Headquarters on the night of 12/13 December 2011. A photographer, who had been invited by one of the participants, was present taking photographs. The police sought an order, pursuant to section 43 of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, requiring the photographer and her newspaper to produce the photographs. The photographer and newspaper refused, arguing that the photographs would provide information that could identify the photographer’s source, and were thus protected by the journalist’s privilege. The magistrate court applied the Citrin test and rejected the privilege claim. The district court distinguished …

Clicking Away Confidentiality: Workplace Waiver Of Attorney-Client Privilege, Adam C. Losey

Florida Law Review

In workplace waiver cases, a schism is quietly developing. Some courts are discreetly (and perhaps inadvertently) abandoning the traditionally accepted narrow interpretation of attorney-client privilege in favor of a broad protective approach on public policy grounds. Others continue to adhere to traditional doctrine. A clash between these two schools of thought may be inevitable. The universal application of a rebuttable presumption that an employee has waived attorney-client privilege could avert a direct collision between these two schools of thought and establish a semblance of predictability in workplace waiver cases.

Part II points out the growing and unspoken abandonment of traditional …

Adult Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Abuse And The Statute Of Limitations: The Need For Consistent Application Of The Delayed Discovery Rule, Gregory G. Gordon

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Psychotherapist And Patient In The California Supreme Court: Ground Lost And Ground Regained, Stanley Mosk

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.