Publisher's Synopsis
Prompted by students' mounting interest in issues of racial justice and new Supreme Court caselaw in various realms of evidence law, this Edition presents the familiar student-friendly textbook, now with these improvements:
- Expands the casebook's focus on issues of racial justice, including the use of rap lyrics against criminal defendants, evidence of racist beliefs of police officers accused of wrongdoing, and the ambiguity of evidence of flight when young men of color run from the police;
- Presents and digests the latest Supreme Court caselaw, including Peña-Rogriguez v. Colorado (2017), Ohio v. Clark (2015) and Hemphill v. New York (2022);
- Fully incorporates the latest amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence and looks ahead to several proposed amendments likely to become law soon, especially concerning illustrative aids and expert testimony;
- Surveys the latest reports and caselaw to assess the current validity of a range of forensic techniques;
- Presents new cases and problems throughout, while retaining tried-and-true teaching tools, however old, that have shown no sign of wear.
As with past editions, this new text addresses the intricacies of evidence law in a way students will find both engaging and intellectually compelling. The casebook and accompanying rulebook are wholly integrated, with paginated cross-references that encourage students to consult legislative history.
