Federal Evidence Review

Nominate the Supreme Court cases that have impacted evidence law

The editors of the Federal Evidence Review have compiled a list of nearly thirty influential cases, listed below. The Supreme Court often sets the direction in which evidence law develops. For example, the landmark Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004) four years ago marked a significant new application of the Confrontation Clause. The Daubert and Kumho Tire cases announced new directions for expert evidence. In some cases, such as Jaffee v. Redmond, 518 U.S. 1 (1996), the Supreme Court recognized a new privilege, the psychotherapist-patient privilege. Some Supreme Court cases involve constitutional considerations, while other cases explain and illuminate the scope and application of the rules of evidence.

For more information concerning a summary of the holdings for these cases, visit the Key Evidence Cases Page. Of course, any effort to develop a list is an ongoing one and may inadvertently omit some cases. If you have any cases to suggest for this growing list, send it in a comment to this post below with your nomination(s).

• Beech Aircraft Corp. v. Rainey, 488 U.S. 153 (1988)
• Bourjaily v. United States, 483 U.S. 171 (1987)
• Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123 (1968)
• Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18 (1967)
• Coy v. Iowa, 487 U.S. 1012 (1988)
• Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004)
• Danforth v. Minnesota, __ U.S. __ (2008)
• Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993)
• Davis v. Washington, 547 U.S. __ , 126 S.Ct. 2266 (2006)
• General Electric Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136 (1997)
• Giles v. California, _ U.S. _, __ S.Ct. __ (2008)
• Gray v. Maryland, 523 U.S. 185 (1998)
• Huddleston v. United States, 485 U.S. 681 (1988)
• Jaffee v. Redmond, 518 U.S. 1 (1996)
• Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999)
• Maryland v. Craig, 497 U.S. 836 (1990)
• Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56 (1980)
• Ohler v. United States, 529 U.S. 753 (2000)
• Old Chief v. United States, 519 U.S. 172 (1997)
• Richardson v. Marsh, 481 U.S. 200 (1987)
• Sprint/United Management Co. v. Mendelsohn, __ U.S. __ (2008)
• Tome v. United States, 513 U.S. 150 (1995)
• Trammel v. United States, 445 U.S. 40 (1980)
• United States v. Felix, 503 U.S. 378 (1992)
• United States v. Mezzanatto, 513 U.S. 196 (1995)
• United States v. Salerno, 505 U.S. 317 (1992)
• Upjohn Co. v. United States, 449 U.S. 383 (1981)
• Whorton v. Bockting, _ U.S. _, 127 S.Ct. 1173 (2007)
• Williamson v. United States, 512 U.S. 594 (1994)