Evidence: Lawyering and the Public Interest

This course centers on three areas: evidence, advocacy skills, and a theoretical understanding of dispute resolution. In each area, students acquire practical skills necessary to the lawyering role and examine litigation in a broader context, encouraging in-depth understanding of the structure of evidentiary rules, as well as the possibility of alternatives. Doctrinal coverage includes the Federal Rules of Evidence, as well as the common law and New York statutes defining the scope of privileges. Students are challenged not only to master this thicket of rules and their many exceptions, but also to develop an understanding of how they affect the fact-finding process, the development of a theory of the case, the viability of litigation, and the unfolding of the story if the case finally reaches the courthouse.