Last updated 3/08/12
Contact Prof. Tanford at tanford@indiana.edu
Office hours: I am usually in my office Tue-Wed from 9:00 am to noon. You may drop by or make an appointment (by email).
a. Textbook -- Friedland, Bergman & Taslitz, EVIDENCE LAW AND PRACTICE (4th ed., LexisNexis 2010).
b. Federal Rules of Evidence - click here for up-to-date online set of rules. Be aware that there are two versions of the Federal Rules of Evidence -- the original (effective 1975-2011) and the new "restyled" version effective as of December 2011. The appendix to your textbook has both the original and the new versions. The language is different but there are no significant substantive differences. Note that as of 12/19/11, the Rules of Evidence App for Apple devices is the old version, not the new.
c. For a downloadable .pdf version of the federal rules, click here .
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 has two tracks: 1) a traditional classroom track that makes extensive use of problems, transcripts, videos, and trial simulations, and requires frequent student participation in making and responding to objections; and 2) a non-classroom electronic track that allows students to take the entire course over the Internet. This option 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 end of the first class to opt for one of these tracks. If you do not attend the first class in person, please follow the appropriate link on the electronic syllabus.
WARNING: HOMEWORK WILL BE ASSIGNED AND COLLECTED in both the live class and the e-class.
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
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.
I teach Evidence using a problem method. Class will focus on the problems in the textbook that are assigned on the syllabus (augmented by additional examples from movies and the daily news). 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 must turn in written objections or responses at the beginning of class. Homework will not be accepted at any other time. 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. 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 to tanford@indiana.edu 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 topic number, e.g., Smith Homework 5. I get hundreds of homework emails a week, and this rule is important to your getting the right credit. Also, you must include your objections in the body of the email, NOT as an attachment. I sometimes have to review these out of the office in situations where I cannot open an attachment.
The final exam will consist of a series of short-answer questions requiring you to argue for or against the admissibility of items of evidence in the context of a trial. It may also contain some multiple choice questions. 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. No computers.
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, whether from a classmate, from prior students, or from stuff found on the Internet, will be immediately suspended from class and penalized. Anyone who allows a classmate to copy their work or who fails to report cheating, even if they have nothing personally to do with it, will similarly be subject to discipline. I have zero tolerance for dishonesty.
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, thinking of arguments you could make. 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. That's what lawyers do -- they look
things up. 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, turn off Facebook, don't text your friends and don't distract your neighbors during 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 textbook, read the outline, do the problems, turn in your
homework, take the e-class, and then move to the next topic on the syllabus only after you have taken the e-class.
c. 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 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. If you are going to delay starting the e-classes, please email me and tell me
approximately when you will begin.
I do not permit students to audit the live class. If you want to audit my evidence course, you must sign up for the electronic class.
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 require class participation. I have been known to call on every person in class in a single day.
b. This class moves very quickly. We can cover as many as five evidence rules in one class. If you fall behind, you will never catch up.
c. There will be homework and pop quizzes.
d. The exam will be fair, cover the entire course, and be hard.
e. I am a litigator and have a trial lawyer's aggressive personality. Not everyone likes me.