2. DEMONSTRATIVE EVIDENCE A GUIDE TO LEGAL RESEARCH PROJECT ONE FALL 2002

3. NOT Heavy Metal Rock…

4. BUT RATHER… This Variety…

5. AND…

6. REMEMBER Jurors retain 10% of what they hear… Jurors retain 87% of what they see!!! In other words… a picture (read: demonstration, simulation, model, table, diagram, etc) is worth a thousand words.

7. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PRIMARY AUTHORITY SECONDARY AUTHORITY PRACTICE MATERIALS ONLINE MATERIALS INDEX

8. INTRODUCTION Rules of evidence are the rules by which a court determines what evidence is admissible at trial and what evidence is not admissible at trial. Federal courts follow the Federal Rules of Evidence, while state courts generally follow their own state rules. State rules of evidence are generally imposed by the state legislature upon the state courts. In establishing what evidence is admissible, many rules of evidence concentrate first on the relevancy of the offered evidence. Rules of evidence also allocate among the parties the burden of producing evidence and the burden of persuading the court.

9. INTRODUCTION CONTINUED In 1965, Chief Justice Warren appointed an advisory committee to draft rules of evidence for the federal courts. After two rounds of published drafts, the Supreme Court prescribed the Federal Rules of Evidence to be effective July 1, 1973 Congress enacted the rules into law with amendments to be effective July 1, 1975. 88 Stat. 1926.

10. INTRODUCTION CONTINUED The Federal Rules of Evidence are thus the product of administrative rulemaking by the Supreme Court and the Congressional legislative process. See the Note by Federal Judicial Center, Advisory Committees Notes, Reports by the Senate & House Committees on the Judiciary following each rule for legislative reasoning.

11. INTRODUCTION CONTINUED Evidentiary exhibits fall into to categories: a. Real evidence speaks for itself b. Demonstrative evidence illustrates or helps explain oral testimony recreates a thing, event, or experiment

12. INTRODUCTION CONTINUED Demonstrative Evidence must clear three Foundational Requirements… a. authentication b. representational accuracy c. identification

13. INTRODUCTION CONTINUED Demonstrative Evidence must then pass three hurdles of admissibility… a. relevancy b. materiality c. competency

14. INTRODUCTION CONTINUED Demonstrative evidence must then pass an final balancing test under relevancy… to determine whether the prejudicial value of the evidence outweighs its probative value

15. INTRODUCTION CONTINUED Demonstrative evidence may be used to educate the finder of facts. Counsel may employ any number of techniques including use of diagrams, models, simulations, tables, and video in an attempt to persuade. Counsel may offer pretrial motions and briefs in support of their prospective use of demonstrative evidence.

16. INTRODUCTION CONTINUED Trial Lawyers Evidentiary Checklist Given that the Rules of Evidence grant the trial lawyer the means by which to state the facts of a case…

17. INTRODUCTION CONTINUED The lawyer must… a. examine and evaluate documents, places and objects concerning the controversy b. interview witnesses c. select facts to be presented at trial d. anticipate and prepare to refute contradictory presentation by the opposition

18. INTRODUCTION CONTINUED Stipulations of Fact, Documentary Records, Fact Testimony, and Opinion Testimony are commonly used to present factual information at trial.

19. SEARCH TERMS Evidence Demonstrative Evidence In Court Demonstrations Charts, Models, Tables Trial Presentation Juror Education Visual Aids