Welcome to Evidence.
This blog will be my means of communicating outside of class.
Please download and read the Syllabus
for complete details about the course, assignments, pedagogical
approach, grading methods, and course rules. Review it prior to the
first class. You should bring the Syllabus with you to every class.
Required Class Materials
1) Robert P. Burns, Steven Lubet, and James H. Seckinger, Evidence in Context (6th ed. 2023) (NITA) (Case Files for People v. Mitchell and McIntyre v. Easterfield) (Problems)
2) Daniel J. Capra & Stephen A. Saltzburg, Principles of Evidence (9th ed. 2022) (West) ("C&S")
3) Federal Rules of Evidence (2023) (Wolters Kluwer) (Rules Pamphlet)
4) Additional statutes, cases, and other materials can be downloaded from the Additional Materials post (which you should bookmark).
I know many of you will be doing OCI this semester and that some
interviews will be during class (including the first classes this week).
I will discuss this at the beginning of the first session on Mony, but the
short of it is: I know and of course you can leave early, come in late, or both for an interview;
please notify me in advance and leave or return through the backdoor of the room.
Assignments for First Day of Class: After the jump
Introduction: Evidence and the Adversary System
Provisions:
Fed.
R. Evid. 101-102, 611, 614
28 U.S.C. §§ 2072-2074 (Rules Enabling Act)
(pp. 354-56)
Problems:
Review case file in People v. Mitchell
(in Evidence in Context)
Commentary:
C&S 1-7, 11-18, 68-69 (§ 3.5)
Questions to Consider:
• What does the law of evidence do or deal with? What do we want our body of evidence law to do or achieve?
• What are the three forms that evidence can take?
• What is the difference between direct evidence and circumstantial evidence?
• Is circumstantial evidence necessarily weaker than direct evidence? What is the basis for the view and why?
• Does all evidence actually require an inference?
Brooke testifies that she saw Joe kill Leslie? Is this direct evidence? Does it require an inference?
You walk into a crowded room and at the far end you see your spouse's back. What led you to say you see your spouse? You walk up to the person and give a big hug--only to see it is not your spouse. What went wrong?
• What are the differences between the adversary and inquisitorial systems and how do those systems affect the law of evidence that should apply?
• What is the purpose of cross examination?
