LAW 804A
Advanced Evidence
2 Unit(s)
In Advanced Evidence the class will analyze a number of recurring and perplexing evidence problems including: (1) The most recent Confrontation Clause cases based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Crawford v. Washington bearing on the admissibility of expert testimony in the areas of gangs, DNA testimony, and autopsy reports; (2) The admissibility of other acts evidence under both the California Evidence Code (CEC) Sections 1101, 1108, and 1109 and the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) 404 and 412-415; (3) The credibility of hearsay declarants under CEC Section 1202 and FRE 806; (4) The use of the rule of completeness under CEC Section 356 and FRE 106; (5) The introduction of prior convictions under CEC 788 and FRE 609; and (6) The admissibility of prior inconsistent statements under CEC 1235 and FRE 801(d)(1)(A). The course will begin with an intensive review of the hearsay rule. Other topics will be addressed as time permits. The course will emphasize the differences between the CEC and the FRE as these will be areas often addressed on the Bar Examination – the multi-state portion of the Bar requiring knowledge of the FRE and the essay portion of the Bar requiring knowledge of the CEC. The discussion of each of these topics will include practice pointers for both the opponent and proponent of the evidence in the courtroom with a Superior Court judge who has ruled on these questions frequently and who has had extensive experience with these issues both as a Deputy District Attorney and as an Assistant United States Attorney.