What is the difference between comparative negligence and assumption of the risk? This Lawdible helps students learn to recognize the differences between the two most important affirmative defenses to a negligence claim — assumption of the risk and comparative negligence. Professor Fordham works through a hypothetical that highlights the differences between assumption of the risk and comparative negligence. He then explains […]
Comparative Negligence vs. Assumption of Risk – Brigham Fordham
February 8th, 2012 · Comments Off on Comparative Negligence vs. Assumption of Risk – Brigham Fordham · All Posts, Lawdibles Audio, Torts
Tags:Assumption of Risk·Brigham Fordham·Comparative Negligence·Torts
Impeaching a Hearsay Declarant Who Does Not Appear in Court – Arthur Best
May 4th, 2010 · 1 Comment · All Posts, Evidence, Lawdibles Audio
How can an opponent impeach a hearsay declarant, when the declarant does not appear in court? Find out in this Lawdible. When hearsay is introduced against a party, that party may impeach the Declarant using any techniques that could be used against a witness who testifies live in court. For example, evidence of past convictions […]
Ethics issues involving attorney retainers and advances – Barbara Glesner Fines
April 29th, 2010 · 2 Comments · All Posts, Lawdibles Audio, Professional Responsibility
As an attorney, you will often receive funds from a client before you even perform any services for a client. Many attorneys require payment of a retainer or an advance for future services. What’s the difference between the two? What legal ethics issues do retainers and advances create? Professor Barbara Glesner Fines of the University […]
Character Evidence for Impeachment of a Witness – Arthur Best
April 27th, 2010 · 1 Comment · All Posts, Evidence, Lawdibles Audio
Evidence about a person’s character for impeachment purposes gets treated differently from evidence about a person’s character to show how he or she acted out of court. What are these differences and why does the law have them? When a party wants to show how someone acted out of court, using character evidence for that […]
Causation: Criminal Law vs. Torts – Leslie Yalof Garfield
April 22nd, 2010 · 1 Comment · All Posts, Criminal Law, Lawdibles Audio, Torts
In this Lawdible, Prof. Leslie Yalof Garfield of Pace Law School discusses the principles of causation, a concept addressed in several first year courses. Professor Garfield points out the difference and similarities between proving causation in Tort and proving causation in Criminal Law. The discussion clearly highlights how the two concepts should be treated in […]
Character Evidence: Evidence law’s anti-propensity inference rule and its exceptions. – Arthur Best
April 20th, 2010 · 2 Comments · All Posts, Evidence, Lawdibles Audio
Why does so much evidence about a defendant’s character get admitted, even though the law supposedly rejects the propensity inference? This question highlights a fundamental problem in evidence law – the shaky rationale for the anti-propensity rule, and the complications surrounding the many exceptions to the rule. Professor Arthur Best will address these issues and […]
How to select case law when writing a legal memo on a state law issue – Karin Mika
April 12th, 2010 · 1 Comment · All Posts, Lawdibles Audio, Legal Writing
Writing a memo on a state law issue involves understanding the nature of jurisdiction and judicial hierarchy. In case selection, the researcher is confronted with selecting the best cases that explain the law as well as selecting supplemental cases that provide for the best factual analogies. In this Lawdible, Professor Karin Mika of Cleveland-Marshall College […]
Tags:case law·judicial hierarchy·legal memo·legal research·Legal Writing
Suspect’s Right to Counsel – Edwin Butterfoss
March 10th, 2010 · Comments Off on Suspect’s Right to Counsel – Edwin Butterfoss · All Posts, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Lawdibles Audio
Both the fifth and the sixth amendments’ rights to legal counsel may apply when authorities are seeking information from a suspect. But how are these rights different? And in what situations do either of these rights apply? In this Lawdible, Suspect’s Right To Counsel, Professor Edwin Butterfoss of Hamline University gives you a very straightforward […]
Tags:Criminal Law·Criminal Procedure·custody·fifth amendment·interrogation·miranda·right to legal counsel·sixth amendment
Legal Issues in Cohabitation of Unmarried Couples – Len Biernat
March 2nd, 2010 · Comments Off on Legal Issues in Cohabitation of Unmarried Couples – Len Biernat · All Posts, Contracts, Family Law, Lawdibles Audio
How can unmarried adults protect their interests when living together outside of marriage? In this Lawdible, Professor Len Biernat answers this question and other legal issues involved in the cohabitation of unmarried couples. Along the way, he covers issues of family law and contract law that go along with this situation. Audio: Legal Issues involving […]
Tags:cohabitation·Contracts·Family Law·implied contract·promissory estoppel·quantum meruit·unmarried couples
Hearsay: Truth of the Matter Asserted Questions – Arthur Best
February 23rd, 2010 · 1 Comment · All Posts, Evidence, Lawdibles Audio
The standard, broad definition of hearsay is “an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of whatever it asserts.” The last part of the hearsay definition (“the truth of the matter of whatever it asserts”) is essential to understanding hearsay, but that part can be tricky for law students who first learn the hearsay rule. […]