Book Description

To view or download the 2021 Supplement to this book, click here. This one-volume, softbound treatise provides clear and concise explanations for the application and practical effect of each Rule of Evidence--a valuable resource for any Evidence student. This treatise was recently cited as "the authoritative text" on federal evidence law (United States v. Schlesinger, 372 F. Supp. 2d 711, 720 (E.D.N.Y. 2005)). This edition contains a careful examination of the most recent changes in the Federal Rules. This edition includes a detailed line-by-line summary and analysis of the newest Federal Rule of Evidence, Rule 502, which sets forth certain important new limitations on the waiver of the attorney-client privilege and work product protection. It also discusses the Supreme Court's latest decision in Kansas v. Ventris (2009), concerning the extent to which a witness may be impeached with prior inconsistent statements that were obtained in violation of witness's constitutional rights. And of course it includes an extensive discussion of four landmark Supreme Court decisions, Crawford v. Washington (2004), Davis v. Washington (2006), Whorton v. Bockting (2007), and Giles v. California (2008), which have completely rewritten the law governing the right of a criminal defendant to rely on the Confrontation Clause to obtain the exclusion of otherwise admissible hearsay.