NCJ Number
188243
Date Published
2000
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This booklet describes major instances in which case law has diverged from an applicable Rule.
Abstract
The goal of the report is to point out the case law divergence from the Federal Rules of Evidence, without commenting on the merits of that divergence. There is no intent to imply that any of the case law is incorrect or "wrongly decided." There is also no intent to imply that any of the Rules are problematic or need to be amended. The fact that the case law diverges from the Rule might be relevant to the need for an amendment, but it is not dispositive. Finally, there is no attempt to be comprehensive in the treatment of the case law construing the Evidence Rules. The report defines divergent case law as case law in at least one circuit that has diverged from the text of the particular Rule. The report does not claim to provide a treatise-like discussion of all the pertinent case law, from all the circuits, construing a particular Rule. The report is divided into two sections: Examples of Case Law in Conflict With the Text of the Rule, the Committee Note, or Both; and Examples of Case Law Development Where the Rule and Committee Note Are Silent.