Prerequisite: None

Exam Type: In-Class

This course will examine the rules and principles of American evidence law, focusing on both the practical application and impact of evidentiary rules in court and the questions of policy, epistemology, and institutional design that govern those rules. Topics will include relevance, competence, character evidence, hearsay and its exceptions, privileges, lay and expert opinion, scientific proof, impeachment, rehabilitation, and authentication, as well as certain constitutional issues bearing on evidence. The course will center on the Federal Rules of Evidence but will incorporate select state counterparts.