Evidence Law: Policy, Practice, and Problems, First Edition

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The combined efforts of the impressive authorship team of Professor Laurie L. Levenson and Justice Brian M. Hoffstadt have produced a casebook that is everything an evidence professor, and the professor’s students, would want in a book – clarity in explaining the rules of evidence, examples to test and reinforce their understanding of the rules, carefully edited cases demonstrating the application of the rules, and discussion of complications in application of the rules.

Evidence Law: Policy, Practice, and Problems is a straightforward and accessible casebook that is consistent and clear in how it teaches evidence. This book provides a suitable foundation for most students to learn and apply, both in litigation and transactional practices, federal and state evidence laws. This is a masterful, comprehensive, and stimulating teaching tool, with its unique approach of (1) providing the rule; (2) explaining the basis for the rule; (3) demonstrating how it is to be applied; (4) discussing any complications in its application; and (5) providing short, where appropriate, carefully edited cases, regarding the rule. Cases in the book serve to affirm the rule, not provide subtle or exceptional applications of it.

Highlights of the First Edition:

• Sets forth the evidence rules, the rationale for them, examples of their applications, cases demonstrating their use in civil and criminal litigation, and plenty of problems for classroom discussion and review
• Each chapter contains summary charts and diagrams to help students follow the requirements and apply the rules
• Carefully edited cases to ensure clarity in the application of the rules is provided without overwhelming the reader
• Summary chapter where students can see the rules applied to a sample trial

• An assortment of review questions that professors and students can use to reinforce the students’ understanding of the evidence rules
• Short readings regarding cutting-edge areas of evidence law  
• Examples of contemporary challenges in applying the evidence rules
• Step-by-step approach for dealing with evidence issues
• Thorough and clear presentation of hearsay, its exceptions, and its interaction with the right of confrontation
• Comparisons with the rules for major state jurisdictions