The rise of the internet has led to a rise in the introduction of web-based evidence in court. It is something that attorneys find themselves having to deal with on a more frequent basis. Whether it be posts from social media, published web articles, or web page...

Sometimes situations will arise where, at a criminal trial, the defendant wants to admit the grand jury testimony of a witness.  Since grand jury hearings are ex parte proceedings, grand jury testimony will almost never be admissible on behalf of the government due to...

Introduction “‘That’s hearsay, I guess,’ Mr Depp told the court, which prompted laughter. The judge replied, ‘I’m not sure it’s even being offered for the truth of the matter.’”[1] If you paid attention to the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial between April 11 and June 1,...

Propensity: How Character Cannot Be Used Character Evidence is one of the hardest concepts to grasp and pick up on; but if you can remember the word ‘propensity,’ and understand it, you will be in a much better position to recognize character. Propensity means “[a]...

This month we will be discussing probably one of the most confusing and worst-named rules… best evidence! If you are flipping through your Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) book with not a clue as to where “best evidence” appears, then I can promise you that you are not...

Federal Rule of Evidence 401 Admissibility of evidence, and the weight of that evidence, are two different things. Evidence is either relevant, or it is irrelevant. Relevant evidence may be admissible. Irrelevant evidence is never admissible. Thus, every piece of...