Evidence (Ferzan)
Faculty
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| Kimberly Kessler Ferzan Earle Hepburn Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy; Co-Director, Institute of Law & Philosophy kferzan@law.upenn.edu |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Other Professional Skills:
Grading
100% Exam
Exam
Multiple Choice,
Short Answer,
Essay,
In Class,
Partial Open Book (Students will not have access to the internet and should not buy electronic versions of books.)
No
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- Class sessions are regularly recorded. I will make these recordings routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
Meeting Times/Location
MTR 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Gittis Hall 1
Category
Upper-Level
Credits
4.0
Trials are conducted with evidence. But which evidence is admissible, and why? This course will focus on the answers to those questions provided by the Federal Rules of Evidence and related case law. We will cover the central issues of relevance and hearsay; character, prior bad acts, and habit; scientific and other expert evidence; authentication; the Confrontation Clause, and conceptual and trial practice issues.
This course is taught with the case file method. Students are assigned roles in two cases--prosecution or defense in a murder case and plaintiff or defendant in a defamation suit. Students thus approach evidence as trial lawyers do with particular emphasis on how admissible evidence is shaped by a litigant's theory the case.
Course materials are thus the casefiles with problems, a treatise, and the rulebook. A handful of cases will also be distributed throughout the semester.
Students are required to have taken both Torts and Criminal Law.
Grades will be determined by student scores on the end-of-semester final exam. Students are required to be prepared, on-time, and present to count as in attendance. Attendance is required for 80% of class meetings.
Constitutional Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of constitutional law; Perform legal analysis in the context of constitutional law; Communicate effectively on topics related to constitutional law; Demonstrate an understanding of constitutional law affects other areas of law.
Courts and the Judicial System Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of both substantive and procedural issues in the operation of our legal system; Perform legal analysis in the context of procedural issues and the judicial process; Communicate effectively on topics related to procedure and the judicial process; Demonstrate an understanding of how procedural issues and the judicial process affect all other area of our legal system.
Criminal Law and Procedure Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of criminal law and procedure; Perform legal analysis in the context of criminal law and procedure; Communicate effectively on topics related to criminal law and procedure; Demonstrate an understanding of the role criminal law and procedure play in society and their impact on other areas of law and society.
Textbooks
"Evidence in Context" by Burns, Lubet, Moberly |