Evidence
Course Information
- Course Number
- L6241
- Curriculum Level
- Upperclass
- Type
- Lecture
- Additional Attributes
- LLM NY Bar Exam Qualifier
Section 002 Information
Instructor

Section Description
This course examines the law and theory of evidence, focusing on the Federal Rules of Evidence and related constitutional and common-law doctrines. Topics include relevance, prejudice, hearsay, character evidence, impeachment, the Confrontation Clause, lay opinions and expert testimony, authentication, and privileges. This is not a trial advocacy or clinical course. However, I view it as a priority to give you a sense of how the Rules actually work in court. The required textbook is Sklansky/Roth, Evidence: Cases, Commentary, and Problems (5 ed.). You will have a 3.5 hour, in-class final exam that is primarily multiple choice. You will also have a mandatory but ungraded mid-semester paper/memorandum assignment. You can work on the memo in small groups if you like, and you will have one week to complete the assignment and turn it in to me.
- School Year & Semester
- Fall 2023
- Location
- JGH 106
- Schedule
-
Class meets on
- Monday
- Wednesday
- Points
- 4
- Method of Evaluation
- Paper and Exam
- J.D Writing Credit?
- No
Learning Outcomes
- Primary
-
- The ability to determine, when faced with a problem involving admissibility of evidence, using the Federal Rules of Evidence, as well as related constitutional and common-law doctrines, whether such evidence is admissible and why.
- Preparation to ultimately pass the Evidence section of the multiple-choice Multistate Bar Exam after graduation.
- The ability to explain and appreciate the (often controversial) history of, and policy assumptions and theoretical framework underlying, the Rules, so you can think creatively about how to interpret, reform or completely rethink them.
- Secondary
-
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in doctrinal analysis, including close reading of cases and precedents, and application to facts
Course Limitations
- Instructor Pre-requisites
- None
- Instructor Co-Requisites
- None
- Requires Permission
- No
- Recommended Courses
- None
- Other Limitations
- None