Learning Evidence: From the Federal Rules to the Courtroom

by Deborah Jones Merritt, Ric Simmons

CasebookPlus Hardbound - New, hardbound print book includes lifetime digital access to an eBook, with the ability to highlight and take notes, and 12-month access to a digital Learning Library that includes self-assessment quizzes tied to this book, leading study aids, an outline starter, and Gilbert Law Dictionary.

Genres: Law, Nonfiction, Textbooks

1102 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Andrew Yuan]

Objection! This book is underrated by the goodreads community. The rules are clearly explained and commonly tested problems accompany the explanations, so it is easy to learn how to do an FRE analysis .

[Sarah]

The best Evidence textbook ever.

I'm one of the nerdy few students who actually like the casebook format of law texts: I find cases interesting, I like reading the different writing styles of various judges, and I like being able to engage with and be critical of the analysis in a written opinion.

But Evidence is the type of rules-y subject that you really just want to learn as clearly, thoroughly, and efficiently as possible. And this textbook was perfectly structured and written to accomplish those objectives. The structure was organized and logical. The rules were clearly laid out on their own terms and then explained in simple, comprehensible language. The examples were perfectly chosen to illustrate the rules and explain any confusing or difficult concepts. Everything was so thorough and readable: I never minded doing reading for Evidence, the readings never took too long, and I almost felt bad that I had no questions during class because the book was so good at answering all of them.

This book is a fantastic resource and I'm almost sorry that I rented it instead of buying because I wouldn't mind having it on my shelf at home with my Bluebook, legal writing guides, and Civil Procedure supplement. Professors Merritt and Simmons should be very proud of themselves and proud of the hard work they've done to educate young lawyers in a very important subject.

[Jody Allard]

I've never been inspired to write a review for a law school text book before, but this is the only book I've ever been assigned to read cover to cover for a class... and it was one of the most pleasant experiences I've had with a text book. It can belabor the point, but it breaks everything down and is very easy to grok.

[Kristine]

The lack of case law in the book can make application/understanding difficult for some rules. Additionally , how rules tend to be split up rather than taught in whole is odd at times.

However, the book is easy to read and we cover it front to back in less than 7 weeks.

[Maly Haghshenas]

I read this book cover to cover for my summer evidence course in law school. So far, favorite and best textbook I’ve read in my academic career. Pointedly identified the rule, application, and policy implications behind each FRE topic. Easy to read with concise chapters.

[Mac (Marie) McMullan]

Best law school text book ever

[Allison]

pretty good

[Alastair]

Best textbook I've used in law school.

[Books&Brews]

Very student friendly textbook. I actually enjoyed reading this material.

[Courtney]

This textbook is phenomenal. First of all, it's not a casebook; it's a rule book. It perfectly explains each of the rules and how to apply them. It also explains the policy considerations behind them and their purposes. There's also a "courtroom" section that applies the rules and uses examples and short excerpts/descriptions from cases. It's easy to understand and I was able to read multiple chapters in one sitting without getting bored and/or tired. I'd definitely recommend it.

PS. I'm also a little biased, because I had Professor Simmons for Evidence and I love him.

[Kersten]

Definitely one of the better textbooks. Really liked that it didn't take the casebook approach--snippets of cases were included as examples to help the reader understand, but they were literally paragraph snippets and not 10-20 pages like usual case excerpts are. Also like how it broke down the rules and highlights key/buzz words.

[Kienie]

Clear and helpful.

[John]

One of the best textbooks I've ever had. I felt like 900 pages went by in no time.