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Principles of Evidence

Authors: Lilly, Graham C. / Capra, Daniel J. / Saltzburg, Stephen A.
Edition: 8th
Copyright Date: 2019
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  1. Preface to the Eighth Edition v
  2. Chapter I. Introduction 1
  3. Chapter II. The Framework 5
    1. § 2.1 The Adversary System 5
    2. § 2.2 Phases of a Trial 6
    3. § 2.3 Offers of Proof and Objections 7
      1. The Offer of Proof: Federal Rule 103 7
      2. Objections: Rule 103 9
    4. § 2.4 Examining Witnesses: General Rules 11
      1. The Form of Questions 11
      2. Leading Questions 11
      3. When Is a Question “Leading”? 12
      4. Qualifications to the “Leading Questions” Prohibition 13
      5. Federal Rule 611 and Leading Questions 14
      6. Scope of Cross-Examination 15
      7. Federal Rule 611(b) 16
      8. Questions Relating to Credibility 17
      9. The Lay Opinion Rule 18
      10. Federal Rule 701 18
    5. § 2.5 Examining Witnesses: When Memory Fails 21
      1. Refreshing Recollection 21
      2. Federal Rule 612 22
      3. Past Recollection Recorded 23
      4. Federal Rule 803(5) 24
    6. § 2.6 Role of Judge and Jury: An Overview 25
      1. Judge’s Fact-Finding Role in Applying the Rules of Evidence 26
      2. Federal Rule 104(a) 29
    7. § 2.7 Shortcuts to Proof: Judicial Notice and Other Devices 30
      1. Judicial Notice 31
      2. When Judicial Notice Is Conclusive 31
      3. Legislative Facts 32
  4. Chapter III. Relevance: General Principles and Special Applications 35
    1. § 3.1 Basic Concepts 35
      1. The Definition of “Relevant” Evidence 36
      2. Definition of Relevant Evidence: Federal Rule 401 37
      3. Determining Consequential Facts 38
      4. Fundamental Principles of Relevance 39
      5. “Background” Evidence 39
      6. Relevance and Sufficiency 40
      7. Common Sense Assessment 41
      8. Relevance Is Relative 41
      9. Summary 43
    2. § 3.2 Exclusionary Counterweights 43
      1. Federal Rule 403 44
      2. The Effect of a Proffered Stipulation on Rule 403 Balancing 45
      3. The Meaning of “Prejudice” 48
      4. Rule 403 Rulings Depend on Context and Evidentiary Alternatives 49
      5. The Moral Foundation of the Law 49
      6. Other Negative Factors Considered Under Rule 403 49
      7. Bench Versus Jury Trials 50
    3. § 3.3 Evidentiary Foundations 51
      1. Authentication 54
      2. Pattern One Authentication: Extrinsic Evidence 57
      3. Chain of Custody Authentication 60
      4. Evidence, the Internet, and Modern Communications 61
      5. Foundational Evidence of Authenticity Must Be Admissible at Trial 63
      6. Pattern Two Authentication: Self-Authentication 63
      7. Illustrative Aids 65
    4. § 3.4 Conditional Relevancy 65
      1. Federal Rule 104(b) 66
      2. “Connecting up” Evidence at Trial 69
      3. Judge-Jury Functions Under Rule 104 70
      4. The Application of Relevance Principles to Evidence of Similar Events 71
    5. § 3.5 Direct and Circumstantial Evidence 72
    6. § 3.6 Rules of Relevance Related to Character 73
      1. Introduction: Protective Rules 73
      2. Character Evidence: In General 75
      3. Character Evidence: When Character Is an Essential Element 76
      4. Federal Rule 405(b)—Proving Character When It Is in Issue 77
      5. § 3.6–1 Character Evidence: Criminal and Civil Cases Distinguished 79
        1. The “Circumstantial” Use of Character 79
        2. Federal Rule 404 80
      6. § 3.6–2 Character Evidence: Circumstantial Use of Character in Criminal Cases 83
        1. The Accused’s Right to Introduce Character Evidence 83
        2. Evidence of the Victim’s Character 84
        3. The Prosecution’s Rebuttal 85
        4. Homicide Cases 85
        5. Presenting and Cross-Examining Character Witnesses 86
        6. Evaluation of Rules Governing the Cross- Examination of Character Witnesses 89
        7. The Bar on Circumstantial Use of Character Evidence in Civil Cases 92
      7. § 3.6–3 Evidence of Habit Distinguished from Evidence of Character 93
        1. Federal Rule 406 93
        2. Proving a Habit or Practice 94
      8. § 3.6–4 Other (Collateral) Crimes and Wrongful Acts 96
        1. Federal Rule 404(b) 96
        2. Certainty with Which Collateral Misconduct Must Be Shown 99
        3. Acquittal of the Collateral Crime 100
        4. The Probative Value of Multiple Similar Acts of Uncharged Misconduct 101
        5. Proper Purposes for Admitting Evidence of Uncharged Misconduct: Illustrations 102
        6. Acts That Are “Inextricably Intertwined” with the Crime Charged 105
        7. Criminal and Civil Cases 106
      9. § 3.6–5 Protective Exclusion of Other Bad Act Evidence 107
      10. § 3.6–6 Reputation, Threats, and Collateral Incidents Affecting the Defendant’s State of Mind 111
      11. § 3.6–7 Special Rules: Cases Involving Sexual Misconduct 113
        1. Introduction 113
        2. Background 114
        3. Federal Rule 412 114
        4. Rule 412: Civil Cases 119
        5. Admissibility of Prior Acts of Sexual Misconduct in Cases of Sexual Assault or Child Molestation 120
        6. Civil Cases Involving a Sexual Assault or Child Molestation 123
  5. Chapter IV. Relevance: Special Applications Driven by Social Policy 125
    1. § 4.1 In General 125
    2. § 4.2 Subsequent Remedial Measures 126
      1. Text of Rule 407 127
      2. Construing Rule 407: Pre-Injury Changes 128
      3. Measures Taken by Parties Not Responsible for the Harm 129
      4. The Principal Escapes from Rule 407: Ownership, Control, Feasibility, and Impeachment 130
      5. Ownership and Control 131
      6. Feasibility of Precautionary Measures 131
      7. Impeachment 134
    3. § 4.3 Compromise and Offers to Compromise 135
      1. Federal Rule 408 137
      2. Purposes for Which Evidence of Compromise Is Not Forbidden by Rule 408 138
      3. Impeachment 139
      4. Use of Evidence of Civil Compromises in Subsequent Criminal Cases 140
    4. § 4.4 Payment of Medical Expenses 141
    5. § 4.5 Pleas and Related Statements 141
      1. Text of Federal Rule 410 142
      2. What Pleas and Statements Are Protected and Why 143
      3. Admissible Statements 145
      4. Waiver of Rule 410 Protections 145
      5. Statements by the Prosecutor in Plea Negotiations 147
    6. § 4.6 Liability Insurance 149
  6. Chapter V. Hearsay: What Is It? 151
    1. § 5.1 Overview 151
      1. Rationale for Excluding Hearsay 152
    2. § 5.2 A Definition of Hearsay 155
      1. Machines and Animals 156
    3. § 5.3 Statements That Are Not Hearsay: A Sampling 156
      1. “Not Offered for Truth” 156
      2. Verbal Acts (Words That Have Independent Legal Significance) 157
      3. Statements Offered for Their Effect on the Listener 160
      4. Implied Assertions 163
      5. Non-Assertive Conduct 165
      6. Ledgers, Inscriptions, and the Like 167
      7. Statements Revealing Awareness; Knowledge Derived from a Particular Source 169
      8. Silence—Including Nondisclosure and Failure to Complain 170
      9. Prior, Out-of-Court Statements by the Witness on the Stand: Impeachment vs. Substantive Effect 172
  7. Chapter VI. Hearsay Exemptions 177
    1. § 6.1 Introduction 177
      1. Two Categories of Exemptions 178
    2. § 6.2 Category I: Prior Statements of a Testifying Witness 178
      1. Prior Inconsistent Statements 179
      2. Prior Consistent Statements 182
      3. Prior Identifications 186
    3. § 6.3 Category II: Party-Opponent Statements: In General 189
      1. Possible Rules of Exclusion for Party-Opponent Statements 190
      2. Admissible Only Against the Party Who Made It 191
    4. § 6.4 Individual and Adopted Party-Opponent Statements 192
      1. Adopted Statements 194
    5. § 6.5 Statements by Authorized Spokespersons and Other Agents 195
      1. Statements by Agents About Matters Within the Scope of Their Employment 197
      2. Coconspirators’ Statements 199
      3. The “In Furtherance” Requirement 201
      4. The “During the Course” Requirement 201
      5. Coconspirator Hearsay: The Judge’s Role 203
      6. The Coconspirator Exemption: A Reprise 205
  8. Chapter VII. Hearsay Exceptions 207
    1. § 7.1 Overview 207
      1. The Rationale Underlying the Exceptions 207
      2. The Layout of the Exceptions 208
    2. § 7.2 Federal Rule 803 Exceptions: In General 208
    3. § 7.3 Spontaneous Declarations: Excited Utterances and Present Sense Impressions 210
      1. Present Sense Impression—Rule 803(1) 210
      2. Excited Utterance: Rule 803(2) 213
    4. § 7.4 Physical or Mental Condition 216
      1. The “State of Mind” Exception: Rule 803(3) 217
      2. Rationale and Applications of the State of Mind Exception 219
      3. The Hillmon Doctrine 220
      4. Statements That Look Backward: The Shepard Rule 225
      5. Polls or Opinion Surveys 227
    5. § 7.5 Statements for Purposes of Medical Diagnosis or Treatment 227
      1. Federal Rule 803(4) 228
      2. Statements in a Medical Record 229
      3. Statements Made for Litigation Purposes 230
    6. § 7.6 Recorded Recollection (Past Recollection Recorded) 231
      1. Federal Rule 803(5) 232
      2. Two-Person Transmissions 233
    7. § 7.7 Business and Public Records 235
      1. Introduction 235
      2. Business Records 237
      3. Circumstances Indicating Untrustworthiness 238
      4. Medical Diagnoses in Business Records 242
      5. Laying a Foundation for Business Records 243
      6. Absence of an Entry in Business Record 244
      7. Public Records: In General 244
      8. Public Records: Rule 803(8) 245
      9. Information from Outside Sources 248
      10. “Factual Findings” 249
      11. The Relationship Between Rule 803(8) and Rule 803(6) 250
      12. The Absence of a Public Record 254
    8. § 7.8 Miscellaneous Rule 803 Exceptions 254
      1. Ancient Documents 254
      2. Learned Treatises 256
      3. Judgment of a Criminal Conviction: Rule 803(22) 258
      4. Other Miscellaneous Rule 803 Exceptions: A Sample 259
    9. § 7.9 Rule 804 Exceptions—Requiring Unavailability of the Declarant 261
      1. Rule 804(a): Unavailability Defined 261
      2. Former Testimony 263
      3. Rule 804(b)(1) 263
      4. The “Party” Requirement 264
      5. Dying Declarations 270
      6. Federal Rule 804(b)(2) 271
      7. Statements Against Interest 273
      8. Difference Between Declarations Against Interest and Party-Opponent Statements 273
      9. When Is a Statement Against the Declarant’s Interest? 274
      10. Text of Rule 804(b)(3) 276
      11. Declarations Against Penal Interest 276
      12. Personal and Family History (Pedigree Exception) 281
      13. Forfeiture of a Hearsay Objection 281
    10. § 7.10 The Residual Exception—Rule 807 283
      1. Near-Misses 286
    11. § 7.11 Applying the Hearsay Exceptions to Multiple Hearsay 290
  9. Chapter VIII. Hearsay and the Confrontation Clause 293
    1. The Confrontation Clause: A Primer 293
    2. Major Features of Pre-Crawford Confrontation Doctrine 294
    3. Crawford v. Washington: A Crossroads 297
    4. The First Applications of Crawford 299
    5. Development of the Primary Purpose Test 300
    6. Statements to Non-Law Enforcement Persons 301
    7. Laboratory Tests and Confrontation 302
    8. Examples of Testimonial and Non-Testimonial Hearsay 305
    9. Forfeiture of the Right to Confrontation 307
  10. Chapter IX. Impeachment 309
    1. § 9.1 Competency to Testify 309
      1. Federal Rule 601 309
      2. Limits on Juror Testimony About Deliberations 311
    2. § 9.2 Impeachment: In General 312
      1. Types of Impeachment 313
      2. Impeaching One’s Own Witness 314
      3. Federal Rule 607 315
    3. § 9.3 Techniques of Impeachment 315
      1. Conviction of a Crime 315
      2. Federal Rule 609 316
      3. Proving the Prior Conviction 321
      4. In Limine Determinations 321
      5. Stale Convictions; Pardons; Juvenile Adjudications 324
      6. Prior Bad Acts 325
      7. The Extrinsic Evidence Bar for Bad Act Impeachment 327
      8. Smuggling in Extrinsic Evidence 328
      9. Bad Act Impeachment and the Fifth Amendment Privilege 329
      10. A Little More on Extrinsic Evidence 329
      11. Character Witness Testimony 330
      12. Federal Rule 608(a) 331
      13. Impeachment by Evidence of Bias 332
      14. Bias Impeachment and the Rule 608(b) Bar on Extrinsic Evidence 334
      15. Impeachment by Prior Inconsistent Statements 334
      16. Extrinsic Evidence of a Prior Inconsistent Statement 335
      17. Disclosing the Inconsistent Statement 336
      18. Opportunity to Explain or Deny the Inconsistent Statement 337
      19. Impeachment by Contradiction 338
      20. Sensory Impairments 340
      21. Psychiatric Condition 341
      22. Impeaching a Hearsay Declarant 341
      23. Abusing Impeachment 342
      24. Accrediting the Witness (Rehabilitation) 343
      25. Methods of Rehabilitation 345
  11. Chapter X. Privilege 347
    1. § 10.1 Rationale and Characteristics 347
      1. Assertion of a Privilege 348
      2. Non-Evidentiary Confidentiality Obligations 349
    2. § 10.2 Privileges Under the Federal Rules of Evidence 349
      1. Relevance of State Law of Privilege 350
    3. § 10.3 The Attorney-Client Privilege 351
      1. The Privilege Defined 352
      2. Representatives of the Attorney and Client 353
      3. The Legal Advice Requirement 354
      4. Two-Way Protection 355
      5. Pre-Existing Documents 357
      6. Statements Outside the Attorney-Client Relationship 358
      7. Possibility of Work Product Protection 358
      8. Agents Necessary to the Representation 359
      9. Reasonable Expectation of Confidentiality 360
      10. The Corporate Client and the Attorney-Client Privilege 361
      11. Shareholder Suits 365
      12. Underlying Factual Information 366
      13. Communications by Multiple Clients and Attorneys Pursuing a Common Interest 367
      14. Duration of the Attorney-Client Privilege 368
      15. The Crime-Fraud Exception to the Attorney-Client Privilege 369
      16. Waiver of the Attorney-Client Privilege 369
      17. Selective Waiver 371
      18. Mistaken Disclosures of Privileged Information 371
    4. § 10.4 Spousal Privilege for Confidential Communications 373
    5. § 10.5 The Spousal Testimonial Privilege 375
    6. § 10.6 Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege 378
    7. § 10.7 Physician-Patient Privilege 380
    8. § 10.8 The Privilege Against Compelled Self-Incrimination: A Primer 382
    9. § 10.9 Analyzing Privilege Law: A Suggested Approach 388
  12. Chapter XI. Expert Testimony and Scientific Evidence 391
    1. § 11.1 Role and Qualification of the Expert Witness 391
      1. Federal Rule 702 392
    2. § 11.2 Background of Current Rule 702 394
      1. The Frye Test 394
      2. The Daubert Test of Reliable Methodology 395
      3. Trial Judge as Gatekeeper 396
      4. Gatekeeper Function Applies to Non-Scientific Expert Testimony 397
    3. § 11.3 Amended Rule 702 398
    4. § 11.4 The Expert Witness: Sources of Knowledge and Direct Examination 399
      1. Federal Rule 703 401
      2. Federal Rule 705 402
      3. Hypothetical Questions 403
      4. Leaving the Expert’s Basis to Cross-Examination 404
      5. Disclosure to the Jury of Inadmissible Facts Relied on by the Expert 405
    5. § 11.5 The Expert Witness: Cross-Examination and Impeachment 407
    6. § 11.6 Scientific and Technical Evidence: A Sample 408
      1. Polygraph Tests 409
      2. Syndrome Testimony: Battered Woman Syndrome 411
      3. A Note on Mathematical Evidence 412
  13. Chapter XII. Burdens and Presumptions 417
    1. § 12.1 Burdens of Persuasion and Production 417
    2. § 12.2 Presumptions: General Nature and Effect 424
    3. § 12.3 Some Sample Presumptions 426
    4. § 12.4 Presumptions: Impact upon Opponent and Effect of Rebuttal Evidence 427
    5. § 12.5 Presumptions: Instructing the Jury 432
    6. § 12.6 Presumptions Under the Federal Rules of Evidence 436
    7. § 12.7 Conflicting Presumptions 437
    8. § 12.8 Presumptions in Criminal Cases: Constitutional Problems 438
  14. Chapter XIII. The Best Evidence Rule 447
    1. § 13.1 In General: The Rule and Its Purpose 447
    2. § 13.2 Application: Proving the Contents of a Writing 448
    3. § 13.3 Application: Identifying an “Original” 449
    4. § 13.4 Application: Recordings and Photographs; Statutory Modifications 450
      1. Statutory Modifications 451
      2. When Is Secondary Evidence Permitted? 451
      3. Is There a Hierarchy of Secondary Evidence? 452
    5. § 13.5 Role of Judge and Jury; Classes of Secondary Evidence 453
  15. Appendix I. Is It Hearsay? 455
  16. Appendix II. Federal Rules of Evidence for United States Courts 461
  17. Table of Cases 497
  18. Index 501
  • Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
  • ISBN: 9781642425840
  • Subject: Evidence
  • Series: Concise Hornbook Series
  • Type: Hornbook Treatises
  • Description: This text examines all topics typically covered in a three- or four-hour course in evidence. Emphasis is on the Federal Rules of Evidence, now adopted in most states. Should the reader desire additional material, ample footnotes provide easy access to leading cases, articles, and standard reference works. This volume contains dozens of illustrations, with answers, designed to make the rules come to life. The eighth edition contains the restyled rules and all the new developments on the Confrontation clause, and covers recent amendments, including those going into effect in 2019. Dan Capra is the reporter, Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Evidence, and Stephen Saltzburg served as a consultant.