{"id":2184,"date":"2018-07-31T12:39:48","date_gmt":"2018-07-31T16:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/aer\/?p=2184"},"modified":"2021-12-16T14:57:50","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T14:57:50","slug":"evidence-law-tools-the-book-versus-the-app","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2018\/07\/31\/evidence-law-tools-the-book-versus-the-app\/","title":{"rendered":"EVIDENCE LAW TOOLS \u2013 THE BOOK VERSUS THE APP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Lawyers want (and need) easy tools for handling Evidence issues.\u00a0 Their understanding of the Rules, their application and their interplay may be hobbled by whether their Law School education was at the hands of a theorist rather than a practice-focused educator, the frequency with which they are in court, and their willingness\u00a0 to read, re-read and think about the law of Evidence.<\/p>\n<p>What so many need is a handy, pocket-sized tool for assessing and addressing Evidence issues.\u00a0 In this electronic\/digital age, they also get to choose format \u2013 print or online.\u00a0 This article will review two newly-available resources.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FEDERAL EVIDENCE APPLIED<\/strong> is an Ipad\/Iphone app,\u00a0 available for free.\u00a0 Developed by the lawfirm Colley Shroyer Abraham in Ohio, it professes to \u201cprovide a clear and comprehensive way for attorneys to determine whether or not a specific piece of evidence is admissible in court. While analyzing a specific piece of evidence, the app screen lights up GREEN for admissible evidence or RED for inadmissible evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If only this were true.\u00a0 The app succeeds in part by offering a decision-tree approach to evidence questions.\u00a0 For example, the user may begin by finding a decision tree under the heading \u201cMove to Admit.\u201d\u00a0 The user then proceeds through steps \u2013 what is being used [live testimony, an exhibit, judicial notice]; whether the offering witness needs to be screened for competence; whether the proffered evidence is \u201crelevant;\u201d whether there is unfair prejudice; the type of evidence [<em>e.g.<\/em> subsequent remedial measure, other acts, habit.]\u00a0 But each screen offers only generic options.\u00a0 For example, the screen for \u201chabit\u201d offers four options:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Person was in conformity with the habit<\/li>\n<li>Organization was in conformity with the habit<\/li>\n<li>Was not in conformity with the habit or custom if relevant such non-conformity is elevant<\/li>\n<li>None of the above<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let\u2019s forget that the Habit rule speaks of the habit of a person or the \u201croutine practice\u201d of an organization, making the second bullet wrong; and let\u2019s also forget the awkward wording of the third bullet.\u00a0 What\u2019s missing is a critical analysis of why a particular behavior meets the habit threshold.\u00a0 The app offers no guidance to answer questions of that nature.<\/p>\n<p>Decision trees guide reasoning \u2013 they don\u2019t provide the answers or the tools for analysis.\u00a0 And the app has occasional errors\/omissions.\u00a0 For example, when discussing<strong> the character attack on the credibility of a \u00a0testifying witness the App omits entirely the phenomenon of a 608(a) character witnesses.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[For more information, go to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.colleyshroyerabraham.com\/Federal-Evidence-Applied-App.shtml\">http:\/\/www.colleyshroyerabraham.com\/Federal-Evidence-Applied-App.shtml<\/a> ]<\/p>\n<p>A more complete tool is found in the latest NITA release of <strong>OBJECTIONS AT TRIAL<\/strong>.\u00a0 Co-authored by Judge Myron Bright and Evidence Professors Ronald Carlson and Edward J. Imwinkelreid, this pocket-sized reference (also available in an e-pub format) lacks the interactivity format of <strong>FEDERAL EVIDENCE APPLIED<\/strong> but makes up for that in analytical completeness.\u00a0 Each objection is showcased in a minute courtroom exchange and is then followed with an exegesis of the applicable Rule(s), the explanation for the particular ruling, and supporting caselaw.<\/p>\n<p>Of particular value is the book\u2019s reference of multiple Rules when an objection may implicate more than one legal issue.\u00a0 An example is the objection \u201cBad Acts Inadmissible.\u201d\u00a0 The book analyzes the issue twice \u2013 first under 404(b), and again as an attack on witness credibility under 608(b).<\/p>\n<p>There is an awkwardness to the organization of <strong>OBJECTIONS AT TRIAL.\u00a0 <\/strong>The book lists potential objections alphabetically \u2013 for example, the first five are<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Addressing Juror By Name<\/li>\n<li>Argumentative<\/li>\n<li>Assuming Facts Not In Evidence<\/li>\n<li>Authentication or Identification Lacking<\/li>\n<li>Bad Acts Inadmissible<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This format works only if the terms the authors use are those typically used by the practitioner.\u00a0 For example, the book discusses \u201cCross-Examination Exceeds Scope of Direct,\u201d\u00a0 but to many practitioners the objection is \u201cbeyond the scope.\u201d\u00a0 And I am not certain what \u201cMisconduct of Counsel\u201d translates to.\u00a0 [On the other hand, reading through the table of contents may inspire lawyers to think creatively about possible Evidence challenges \u2013 and for those not familiar with the Rules by numbers, the labels may offer a key to recognizing potential challenges.]<\/p>\n<p>The section on hearsay is organized differently.\u00a0 Each hearsay exception or exemption is described, followed by a list of potential grounds for challenging an assertion being offered under that provision.\u00a0 This offers both ease of finding the specific rule at issue and the comfort of having a \u2018checklist\u2019 of conditions that must be met to permit admission.<\/p>\n<p>There are other NITA Evidence resources, in particular FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE WITH OBJECTIONS (2017), a book that tracks the Rules as codified.\u00a0 But for those who want an aid organized by topic rather than Rule, with succinct but rich caselaw updates, <strong>OBJECTIONS AT TRIAL <\/strong>is a useful tool for trial lawyers.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lawyers want (and need) easy tools for handling Evidence issues.\u00a0 Their understanding of the Rules, their application and their interplay may be hobbled by whether their Law School education was at the hands of a theorist rather than a practice-focused educator, the frequency with which they are in court, and their willingness\u00a0 to read, re-read<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,7,11],"tags":[],"coauthors":[238],"class_list":["post-2184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advocacy","category-advocacy-and-evidence-blog","category-evidence","category-trial-advocacy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>EVIDENCE LAW TOOLS \u2013 THE BOOK VERSUS THE APP - Advocacy and Evidence Resources<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lawyers want (and need) easy tools for handling Evidence issues. 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