Last updated 11/17/09
Contact Prof. Tanford at tanford@indiana.edu
Office hours: I am usually in my office Mon-Wed from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. However, I maintain an active caseload, so my schedule can be erratic. You can make an appointment by email.
Secretary: My secretary is Stacy Harris on the 3rd floor. Bear in mind that she works for me, not for you. If you have a question, need to turn something in, wonder where I am, or want to schedule an appointment, talk to me (or send me an email), not her.
Prof. Tanford's section of Evidence is a 3-hour course with a specific focus on litigation and learning to use the rules of evidence when making or responding to objections. Most course materials will be distributed in electronic form via a course website, so a computer and the ability to work over the Internet are required.
This course is offered in two tracks. There is a traditional classroom track, primarily for those who are serious about trial practice. It will be taught on a problem-solving method, not the
case method. It will make extensive use of transcripts, videotapes, and trial simulations, and ask students to make and respond to objections. Extensive drill and class participation is
required. Second, there will be a non-classroom electronic track. Students may opt to take the entire Evidence course electronically over the Internet. This track is aimed primarily at
students who commute, are taking Evidence as a bar exam course, or need scheduling flexibility. You will be asked at the beginning of class to opt for one of these tracks, subject to the
following:
* Unless completely fluent in English, LL.M. and S.J.D. students are strongly urged to take the electronic class. The live class moves at a rapid pace with lots of colloquial dialogue, and past
students have found it difficult to comprehend.
* If you anticipate missing more than one or two days of class, you should take the electronic version. Daily attendance is taken in the classroom course and counts toward the grade.
* If you plan to take Trial Advocacy, you are strongly urged to take the live class.
WARNING: HOMEWORK WILL BE ASSIGNED AND COLLECTED in both the live class and the e-class.
a. Textbook -- Friedland, Bergman & Taslitz, EVIDENCE LAW AND PRACTICE (3rd ed., Lexis 2007)
b. Federal Rules of Evidence - click here for electronic version. The Rules are also reprinted in an Appendix beginning on page 873 in the textbook.
If you need a hornbook, I recommend Park, Leonard & Goldberg, Evidence Law (West)
Best, Evidence Examples and Explanations
Binder, The Hearsay Handbook
Fishman, A Students Guide to Hearsay
Goode & Wellborn, Courtroom Evidence Handbook
Graham & Ohlbaum, Courtroom Evidence
Imwinkelreid, Evidentiary Distinctions
Imwinkelreid, Evidentiary Foundations
McCormick on Evidence (used by most lawyers)
Mueller & Kirkpatrick, Evidence
Reutlinger, Evidence: Essential Terms and Concepts
Saltzburg, Martin & Capra, Federal Rules of Evidence Manual (treatise)
Tanford, Indiana Trial Evidence Manual
Wigmore's 12-volume treatise.
The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) provides a number of lessons in evidence. For instructions on how to access them, click here . Titles include:
Character evidence under federal rules
The concept of hearsay
The definition of hearsay and the federal rules
Hearsay from square one: the definition of hearsay
Federal rule 801(d) nd multiple hearsay
Four FRE 803 hearsay exceptions: availability immaterial
Hearsay exceptions: rules 803 and 804
The hearsay rule and its exceptions
Expert and opinion evidence
Impeachment and rehabilitation of witnesses
Survey of evidence
I teach Evidence using the problem method. Class will focus on the problems in the textbook that are assigned on the syllabus. You should come to class prepared to make objections, respond to objections, offer arguments in support of your position, lay foundations, make rulings and defend them. I will not spend any appreciable amount of time explaining "general concepts" or summarizing the evidence rules that are fully explained in the textbook unless you ask questions. I will assume you have read the materials, understand the basic evidence rule, and have thought about the problems before class.
You will be assigned homework on many class days in the form of one or more problems. For those in the live class, you will turn in written objections or responses at the beginning of class. These assignments will also serve as the record of your class attendance, so you must appear and turn them in personally. You may not have someone else turn it in for you so you get credit for it despite being absent. Doing so is unethical and fraudulent. Repeated failure to turn in these assignments will be interpreted as persistent absence from the class and you may be asked to withdraw from it.
For those in the e-class, you will turn in each written homework assignment by email prior to taking the electronic class. Please label your homework clearly in the subject line with your last name, the word "homework"and the syllabus number, e.g., Tanford Homework 5. I get hundreds of homework emails a week, and this rule is important to your getting the right credit.
The final exam will consist of a series of multiple-choice and/or other short-answer questions about the admissibility of evidence in a case file with transcripts, witness statements and documents. All students will take the same exam at the time and in the room scheduled by the Law School, regardless of whether you are taking the traditional classroom track or the electronic track. You will not be allowed to sit for the exam if you have missed a substantial number of classes. The exam is closed book, although I supply you with a copy of the Federal Rules of Evidence.
In my courses, your behavior is at all times covered by the Model Rules of Professional Conduct . The classroom will be considered the equivalent of a hearing in a courtroom, with me as the judge. Violations of the rules may result in your being held in contempt or brought up on disciplinary charges. In either case, you may be "fined" in the form of a point deduction from your final grade. It should go without saying that you must do your own work and may not copy someone else's answer on the daily homework assignments. Anyone caught copying someone else's homework, or allowing someone to copy their homework, will be immediately suspended from class and penalized.
a. You should read the materials and write out answers to the problems in advance of class. Some of the assignments may seem short, but the problems can be complicated and should be thought
through. Pre-class preparation is more about thinking than reading. As a general rule, you should devote a minimum of 2 hours preparing for each class. Do not try to read more than a day or two
ahead, as the effort will be wasted.
b. If you are having trouble understanding something, you should first try one or more of the reference books I have listed. If that doesn't help, then come see me. The first question I will ask you is
where you have looked for an answer.
c. Attend class, ask questions, and participate in the discussion.
d. Pay attention, be civil and professional, don't watch You Tube, and don't distract your neighbors in class.
a. Treat the e-classes like live ones and prepare before signing on. You should read the materials, write out answers to the problems and turn in your homework before taking an e-class. Some of the
assignments may seem short, but the problems can be complicated and should be thought through. Preparation is more about thinking than reading. As a general rule, you should devote a minimum of
two hours preparing for each class. Do not read more than a day or two ahead, as the effort will be wasted.
b. Do the assignments in the order they appear on the syllabus, e.g., read the rule, read the text, read the outline, do the problems, turn in your homework, take the e-class, and then move to the next topic.
c. If you are having trouble understanding something, you should first try one or more of the reference books I have put on reserve. If that doesn't help, then come see me or email me. The first question
I will ask you is where you have looked for an answer.
d. Don't wait until the last minute. The e-classes can take 45-60 minutes each. Procrastination during the semester followed by a frantic effort to make up lots of classes in a few days is the single
biggest factor in poor exam performance.
I communicate by email to your university email address. It is therefore critically important that you maintain your email account properly, keep your mailbox empty, make sure nothing gets caught in your spam filter, and check it regularly. This is especially important for those taking the electronic class.
a. You do not have the right to remain silent in my class. I expect class participation.
b. This class moves very quickly. We can cover as many as five evidence rules in a single day. If you fall behind, you will never catch up.
c. There will be homework.
d. I am a litigator and have a trial lawyer's aggressive personality.