Product Description

Recent updates:

• Update: August 2023

  Dear Subscriber:

  Thank you for updating your library with the 2023 edition of Massachusetts Evidence: A Courtroom Reference .

  This latest edition incorporates developments on a wide range of topics in Massachusetts evidence, such as

  • the scope of the "benevolent gestures" statute and of the doctrine of verbal completeness;

  • judicial notice of municipal ordinances;

  • the scope of the rape shield statute;

  • the scope of the attorney-client privilege in situations where an attorney is advising both a corporation and one of its corporate officers;

  • numerous applications of the law of hearsay, including references to past recollection recorded, excited utterances, state of mind, and out-of-court identifications;

  • a conversation started through text messages and completed in person as a "single, continuous" first complaint;

  • the absence of a requirement that witnesses meet a particular threshold of certainty in offering expert testimony;

  • distinctions between demonstrations and experiments;

  • requirements for admitting prior recorded grand jury testimony, considering in particular how fully the prosecutor developed the case before the grand jury; and

  • the court's discretion to allow the use of a chalk even if it is inaccurate, provided that the problems can be addressed in cross-examination.

  We trust you will find the 2023 edition of Massachusetts Evidence: A Courtroom Reference a valuable resource, as we at MCLE continue our efforts to bring you the latest solutions to the issues you face in your practice.

  Very truly yours,

  John M. Lawlor, MCLE Publications Attorney

Table of Contents

Chapter 01 expand

Introduction and Exclusion of Evidence; Burdens of Proof

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J.W. Carney, Jr., Esq., Carney, Gaudet & Carney
Addison R. Gamliel, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel Services, Children and Family Law Program

Chapter 02 expand

Judicial Admissions and Evidentiary Admissions

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J.W. Carney, Jr., Esq., Carney, Gaudet & Carney
Daniel J. Gaudet, Esq., Carney, Gaudet & Carney

Chapter 03 expand

Witness Competency

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Neerja Sharma, Esq., Burns & Levinson LLP
Ellen J. Zucker, Esq., Burns & Levinson LLP

Chapter 04 expand

Evidentiary Privileges

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William Eugene Evans, Esq., Goodwin Procter LLP

Chapter 05 expand

Hearsay

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Gilda Tuoni Russell,

Chapter 06 expand

Expert Testimony

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Erin J. Meehan, Esq., Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy, PC
L. Jeffrey Meehan, Esq., Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy, PC

Chapter 07 expand

Unavailable Witnesses

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J.W. Carney, Jr., Esq., Carney, Gaudet & Carney
Nat Carney, Esq., Carney, Gaudet & Carney

Chapter 08 expand

Real Evidence

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J.W. Carney, Jr., Esq., Carney, Gaudet & Carney
Andrea L. Davulis, Esq., McCormack Suny LLC

Chapter 09 expand

Documentary Evidence

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Barbara T. O'Toole, SEVITA
Payal Salsburg, Esq., Laredo & Smith LLP

Chapter 10 expand

Impeachment

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J.W. Carney, Jr., Esq., Carney, Gaudet & Carney
Daniel J. Gaudet, Esq., Carney, Gaudet & Carney

Appendix

Massachusetts Guide to Evidence, 2023 Edition—Quick Reference Version

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