ONE LINE LESSONS

The following “one line lessons” for excellence in advocacy were contributed by members of the national trial advocacy listserv.  The submissions are organized topically, with the contributors’ names preceding their contributions.   CASE THEORY Brett Bayne Shamelessly stolen from Herb Brooks and the 1984 Miracle on Ice, he reportedly strolled the bench behind the players

THE “COOPERATING WITNESS” AND THE SEARCH FOR VERACITY

More than a decade ago, the New Jersey Supreme Court wrote the following about eyewitnesses: “Without persuasive extrinsic evidence, one cannot know for certain which identifications are accurate and which are false—which are the product of reliable memories and which are distorted by one of a number of factors.”  State v. Henderson, 208 N.J. 208,

WHAT “OPENS THE DOOR?”

It is a regular occurrence in trials for one party to approach the Judge and say “Your Honor,” they just opened the door to X; may I now ask questions or present evidence on that point?”  The response may be more reactive than reasoned, and that is because we rarely discuss the legal principles underpinning

FORENSIC HYPNOSIS – AN OXYMORON

Nearly thirty-five years ago, the problems with ‘forensic’ hypnosis were acknowledged as real – “[T]hat hypnosis guarantees the accuracy of recall is as yet without established foundation…” “[I]n fact, hypnosis often has no effect at all on memory.” “The most common response to hypnosis, however, appears to be an increase in both correct and incorrect