Evidence
Fall term, Block F
W,Th 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Visiting Professor Peter Murray
3 classroom credits LAW-36000A
In a trial of the facts to a factfinder, whether jury, judge, or tribunal, the respective parties and their lawyers strive to recreate in the consciousness of the fact-finders clear and credible images of events and circumstances from real life. The trial lawyers' presentations relate facts proven by evidence to the common experience of the fact-finders in order to generate inferences of other facts not directly provable. The law of evidence regulates this process and legitimates outcomes in the Anglo-American jury trial tradition. In this course the rules of evidence are presented and studied in the context of effective trial advocacy with some consideration of comparative perspectives on fact-finding in various legal systems. The course is structured around the Federal Rules of Evidence but also includes evidence issues from other sources. The basic topics of relevance, hearsay, form of direct and cross examination, rules of exclusion, illustrative aids, impeachment, authenticity, expert testimony, best evidence, privilege, and unfair prejudice will be covered through study and discussion of trial problems as well as of rules and cases. Text: Green, Nesson, and Murray, Problems, Cases and Materials on Evidence (3rd ed. 2001), plus the 2007 Evidence Rules Supplement, and computer-aided instructional materials. The course text, lecture notes, assignments, and additional materials will be available on the course website.