Free FederalEvidence.com Features:
In creating the Federal Evidence Review, its editors developed a number of tools for their research and analysis of evidence issues. This tour introduces you to the tools that you can use for free on this site. The tools are linked to from the menu on the right side of most pages on this site.
The Complete Text Of The Current Federal Rules Of Evidence:
The first stop in research is normally to find the current text of the rule that may deal with the evidence issue. The current Federal Rules of Evidence are available and can be readily copied on the Rules Page. Particular sections of the Rules can be located by using the drop-down menu box on the page, or by using the search function on your web-browser.
History Of The Rules:
The next stop in research often involves finding the drafting history of a rule of evidence. This history is often reflected in the Advisory Committee Notes. The complete text is available on the Advisory Committee Notes Page. Particular sections of the Notes can be located by using the drop-down menu box on the page, or by using the search function on your web-browser. Because the entire text of the Notes is available from this page, it may take a few seconds to complete its upload, depending on the quality of your Internet connection.
Amendments To The Rules:
As a supplement to the history of a Rule provided by the Advisory Committee Notes page, the Amendments Page provides materials and text pertinent to recent rule amendments or proposals to change the Rules. The explanatory text at the beginning of the Amendments Page links to available materials concerning amendments to the Rules dating back to 2003.
Federal Evidence Review Coverage:
Another useful tool in evidence law research involves finding out if the Federal Evidence Review has published an analysis of the issue. The Rules Index Page on this site shows when the Review has published a feature article on a particular evidence rule. The Subject Index Page arranges Review articles by their issue area. Finally, the Master Index Page lists all articles published by the date and type of article. Articles are available only to subscribers whose subscription agreement covers the period in which the article appears. But many articles can also be purchased as part of a past Federal Evidence Review issue. Many past Reviews are available for purchase on the Past Issues Page.
Search Evidence Cases:
Although not yet fully developed, the Review expects to open its case library to searches, allowing site users to perform text searches of over 1500 evidence cases and materials complied since 2005. Currently a beta version of the search is available, but it only searches text posted on the pages of FederalEvidence.com and excludes PDF files which is the format for most cases.
Key Evidence Cases:
The Key Evidence Cases page provides access to a short summary and the text of selected Supreme Court cases dealing with evidence issues in the past decades.
Evidence links:
If FederalEvidence.com does not have the resources you are looking for in researching an evidence question, the Links page provides a directory of connections to other sites that might aid your efforts if the FederalEvidence.com site does not have the particular evidence resource you need.
