LAW508

042225

This course will introduce you to the law of evidence that controls the admission of evidence in civil and criminal trials. We will focus on the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE), applicable to trials in federal courts, and the Arizona Rules of Evidence, applicable in Arizona state courts. The FRE were adopted in 1975; the Arizona rules of evidence were adopted in 1977 and, with only a few differences, are almost entirely identical to the FRE. Hence, by studying the FRE, we will be learning the Arizona rules at the same time.

We will organize the course using the 3Rs structure. That is, the evidence rules operate as a filtration system, and all offered evidence must pass through three independent filters: evidence must be (1) relevant, (2) reliable, and (3) right. Only then is the offered evidence admissible and can be considered by the fact-finder (the jury in a jury trial, the judge in a bench trial).

GRD - Regular Plus/Minus Grades A, B, C, D, E

Law

LAW408