Evidence

NOTE: Completion of Evidence is required before the state Supreme Court will certify students to appear in court. If you are considering taking Clinic or other courses (or obtaining employment) in which court appearance opportunities are available, you may want to take Evidence early in your law school career.

Evidence - Fall or Spring

• Course Number: LAW-122
• Course Type: Foundational
• Credits: 3
• Enrollment Limit: Determined by the Registrar
• Description: An examination of rules and policies governing kinds of information which can be received at trial, how evidence can be properly developed by attorneys, and how evidence may be considered by the trier of fact. In this process, policies favoring logically probative evidence must be weighed against policies protecting against hearsay, opinion, prejudice, time consumption, and other harmful matters. Proper examination and impeachment of witnesses also are explored.
• Prerequisite: none
• Evaluation Method: Final exam
• Capstone: no
• WIE: no

Evidence - Fall 2023 - Justice Bronson James

• Course Number: LAW-122
• Course Type: Foundational
• Credits: 3
• Enrollment Limit: Determined by the Registrar
• Description:  In this course we will cover the major rules that govern the admissibility of evidence in court. We primarily refer to the Federal Rules of Evidence; forty-four states have adopted these rules in whole or in greater part. However, at times, we will discuss Oregon unique rules. You will also learn some constitutional limits on the introduction of evidence in a criminal trial. Topics include relevance, character evidence, impeachment, the rule against hearsay, and expert testimony, and more. The second component of the class is more philosophical and tactical, asking what the purpose of a trial serves, to what ends rules of evidence help, or hinder, that purpose, and how a savvy lawyer can use the rules of evidence in planning trial strategy. Our aim is not simply to learn these rules, but to approach them critically, and to think of the purpose they serve, and how they are, or are not, accomplishing that goal. We will discuss how the rules of evidence might adapt, and you will be asked to think about how you would change the rules of evidence to improve the justice system.
• Prerequisite: none
• Evaluation Method: Paper and final exam
• Capstone: no
• WIE: no

Evidence - Professor Gary Sussman and Professor Kelly Zusman (Summer)

• Course Number: LAW-122
• Course Type: Foundational
• Credits: 3
• Enrollment Limit: Determined by the Registrar
• Description: A study of the rules and policies governing the kinds of information that can be received at trial, how evidence should be developed by attorneys, and how evidence may be considered by the trier of fact. Examination and impeachment of witnesses are also explored. The course includes analysis and practical demonstrations.
• Prerequisite: none
• Evaluation Method: Final exam
• Capstone: no
• WIE: no