WANTED! Dead or Alive! Should the “Res Gestae Doctrine” be Allowed to Survive?
This webinar is available free of charge to active judges through an NJC scholarship.
199
Days & Times
11 a.m. PDT/Noon MDT/1 p.m. CDT/2 p.m. EDT. 60 minutes.
Course Location
Online
Course Fees
This webinar is available free of charge to active judges through an NJC scholarship.
$199
The doctrine of "res gestae", in the words of Judge Learned Hand, “had best be denied any place whatever in legal terminology.” Dean Wigmore was similarly critical, observing that although the doctrine was not entirely “useless” it was “positively harmful.” What is this doctrine that has caused such confusion and consternation and is res gestae dead or alive in modern American evidence law? This webinar will examine the common-law doctrine of res gestae, identifying its two distinct historical uses, but focusing on its use as an exception to the exclusion of propensity evidence. After exploring the doctrine’s origins, meaning, and development, participants will examine its continued use in state and federal courts and the varying approaches those courts have taken to res gestae evidence. The program will conclude by considering whether the doctrine has, as its critics have long suggested, “outlived its usefulness.”
This webinar is available free of charge to active judges through an NJC scholarship. $199
During this course, you will learn to:
- Explain the common-law evidentiary doctrine of res gestae and, in particular, its two distinct historic applications;
- Distinguish when and how res gestae operates to supplement or supplant the prohibitions against hearsay evidence and propensity evidence;
- Compare the differing approaches to the admission of res gestae evidence adopted by state courts and the United States Courts of Appeals; and
- Evaluate whether, and to what extent, the res gestae doctrine remains doctrinally sound and should continue to play a role in modern evidence law.
The doctrine of "res gestae", in the words of Judge Learned Hand, “had best be denied any place whatever in legal terminology.” Dean Wigmore was similarly critical, observing that although the doctrine was not entirely “useless” it was “positively harmful.” What is this doctrine that has caused such confusion and consternation and is res gestae dead or alive in modern American evidence law? This webinar will examine the common-law doctrine of res gestae, identifying its two distinct historical uses, but focusing on its use as an exception to the exclusion of propensity evidence. After exploring the doctrine’s origins, meaning, and development, participants will examine its continued use in state and federal courts and the varying approaches those courts have taken to res gestae evidence. The program will conclude by considering whether the doctrine has, as its critics have long suggested, “outlived its usefulness.”