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I. Objections, Offers of Proof and Evidentiary Foundations
· Timeliness and specificity requirements for objections and offers of proof. Rule 103
· Use of motions in limine
· Preliminary fact questions upon which admissibility depends. Rule 104.
· The doctrine of limited admissibility. Rule 105 and the relation between relevance and hearsay objections
· The often overlooked rule of completeness. Rule 106
II. Hearsay: What Every Trial Lawyer Must Know
· Definition: what it is and what it isn’t
· Privity admissions
· The use of prior consistent statements
· Statements made for purposes of diagnosis or treatment
· Public and business records
· The residual hearsay exception and its uses
· Who is a “predecessor in interest” under the former testimony exception?
III. The Sixth Amendment Right of Confrontation
· The Crawford v. Washington revolution and the issues it raises
· What is a “testimonial” statement and why is it important
· The objective witness test
· The primary purpose of police interrogation test
· The “forfeiture by wrongdoing” exception to the Confrontation Requirement
· The six leading United States Supreme Court cases
IV. Witness Examination
· Techniques for refreshing and recorded recollection
· Impeachment by contradiction; definition and limits
· Impeaching your own witness; case law limitations
· Impeachment of the non-testifying hearsay declarant. The tension between Rules 806 and 608(b).
V. Expert Witnesses
· History: the eras of liberal admissibility and retrenchment
· The Daubert - Joiner- Kumho revolution
· The impact of amendments to Federal rules 702 and 703
· Criteria for the admissibility of expert testimony
VI. Great American Trials: The Story of What Happened When American Nazis Tried to March in Skokie. Freedom for the Speech We Hate.
· Does the First Amendment protect hate speech?
· Village of Skokie v. The National Socialist Party
· “Time, place, and manner” exception
· The concept of “prior restraint”
· The so called “Heckler’s veto”
· The concept of a “captive audience”
· The “fighting words exception”
· The Skokie result
· International comparisons on how hate speech is handled
· Later decisions: Snyder v. Phelps – the military funeral demonstration case
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