Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 182: Listen and Learn -- Policy Exclusions (Evidence)
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 281: Listen and Learn -- Character Evidence
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 121: Listen and Learn -- Character Evidence
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 259: Listen and Learn -- Relevance in Evidence
Do plaintiffs’ experts get to put junk science before juries more often than their opinions are excluded? The answer is a resounding “probably.” Even in light of the December 2023 amendment to Federal Rule of Evidence and its...more
Identifying junk science is merely the first step of the battle when considering argument approach and courtroom strategy. With this in mind, the main goals are to keep junk science out of the courtroom and, of course, win...more
I remember listening to Justice Frank Cleckley of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, my professor for Evidence, open his first lecture with a discussion of Federal Rule of Evidence 103. As a young law student, I was...more
Expert witnesses can be critical to defending a tax position—but what happens when an expert must maintain confidentiality over information that is important to their analysis? Preserving this confidentiality while ensuring a...more
Having taught Federal Rule of Evidence 502 (FRE 502) in my law classes for over a decade, I felt I had a firm grasp of its nuances. Yet recent litigation where I serve as Special Master prompted me to revisit the rule with...more
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the legal system heralds a transformative era marked by both innovation and unprecedented challenges. After some lawyers made headlines for submitting legal briefs with...more
If you’re an attorney, a paralegal, an investigator, a law enforcement officer, or even if you just watch a lot of legal dramas on television, you’re likely familiar with the term “chain of custody”....more
The increasing globalization of business, through Internet-based commerce and the activities of multinational corporations, has made it more likely than ever that litigators in U.S. courts will be confronted with documents...more
Effective December 1, 2023, the amendment to the United States Federal Rule of Evidence 702 clarifies and emphasizes existing requirements for the admissibility of expert witness testimony. Overall, the amendment to Rule 702...more
Corporate defendants are frequently faced with a quandary—is the company’s highly sophisticated professional employee simply a fact witness or does their anticipated testimony propel them into the world of expert discovery?...more
The adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” carries a special meaning in litigation. It can be one of those classic “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situations: After an injury or other tortious event, if you fix...more
There is an adage that lawyers learn the version of the rules of evidence and procedure that are current when they are in law school and then do not look at them again. While that is (hopefully) an exaggeration, it is always...more
The amended language of Federal Rule of Evidence 702, which governs the admissibility of expert testimony in federal court, takes effect on December 1, 2023. Even though the Advisory Committee comment stresses that it...more
Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence governs expert witness testimony in federal courts. On April 24, 2023, the United States Supreme Court approved an amendment to Rule 702 (the “Amendment”), which will go into effect...more
If you don’t know where a line is, you can’t say whether someone has crossed it. That principle applies in spades to expert witnesses, particularly when their role in the case calls on them to help the jury understand where...more
Hearsay is simple enough to define – it is an out of court statement offered for the truth of the matter asserted. But practicing attorneys know that the definition of hearsay is deceptively complex. Questions like, “what is...more
Until very recently, the rule in many jurisdictions was that any individual could attend a deposition unless the trial court ordered otherwise. Some litigators brought expert witnesses to the deposition of the opposing...more
The California Supreme Court recently issued an important ruling on the use of civil discovery depositions in lieu of trial testimony. The court’s opinion in Berroteran v. Los Angeles County Superior Court, No. S259522...more
Federal Rule of Evidence 702—Testimony by Expert Witnesses—was promulgated in 1975 when Congress first enacted the Federal Rules of Evidence. Original Rule 702 simply stated that “[i]f scientific, technical, or other...more
No visit to New Orleans is complete without a bowl of gumbo. There are many preferences, of course, but every great bowl of gumbo has the same foundation. It is of no consequence whether you prefer Dooky Chase’s savory, porky...more
Federal litigators aren’t taking sufficient advantage of 2008 amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 502, which gives them the authority to obtain protective orders that can stem the damage from inadvertent disclosure of...more
Judicial notice is one of the less glamorous parts of motion practice. A request for judicial notice is typically a lower-priority background document, drafted towards the end of the brief-writing process, along with a notice...more
Increasing use of AI requires careful consideration by both legal practitioners and the courts. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is becoming pervasive in our lives. There’s no doubt about it. ...more
Trial advocacy is a mix of law and theater, requiring a lawyer to know both the law and their audience. Attorneys must effectively argue their client’s case using the evidence and the jury instructions to show their client is...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has conducted an inspection of your plant after one of your employees amputated part of his finger trying to clean around a sprocket with the machine still running. ...more