Evidence

2.5 Credit Hours

This course is designed for the Executive LLM program. The law of evidence provides the grammar rules of the distinctive language practices that prevail in the American trial. These rules have traditionally been thought to support the rule of law by enhancing the accuracy of the trial "fact-finding" and by keeping the inquiry focused on the issues indicated by the substantive law. The Evidence course will examine the rules of evidence, usually focusing on the dominant Federal Rules of Evidence. These rules include relevance, hearsay, expert testimony, impeachment of witnesses, rules surrounding the use of exhibits and evidentiary privileges. The course may also explore the relationship between these rules and the function of the trial in our legal order, the methods best calculated to result in reliable knowledge of past events, and the moral and political values that shape and qualify our search for such knowledge.