Evidence

by George Fisher

Law school casebook for the presentation of evidence law. Covers materials in detail, including relevance, reliability, and privileges. Materials are designed to challenge the student intellectually, and will be found to be fun as well.

Genres: Law, Legal, Nonfiction, Textbooks

875 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Ben Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so hard to put down! Every section left me wanting more cases and rules to learn but the textbook can only be so dense. I particularly liked the part where Ms. Gray made multiple lovers *disappear* to claim their insurance benefits, while also rendering them unavailable as witnesses to testify against her at trial (U.S. v. Gray). This taught me a lot about hearsay (among other things). I can’t wait to see what the fifth edition brings!

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is the best textbook i’ve had in law school. fisher does an exceptional job explaining the concepts and cases that supplement the FRE. i wish he could write all of my textbooks.

[Megan Nicholson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay we did actually read this front to back. A girl is tired

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book IS the best law text I've had in law school. From the substance to the layout to the multitude of hypotheticals, I was continually impressed (and grateful) at the way it broke down complex topics in simple, learnable terms. Because Fisher's textbook is so useful, Evidence is the first class in law school I haven't felt the need to drop eighty dollars on a hornbook.

If I ever have the chance to meet Prof. Fisher, I will hug him for it.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty dang good!

The authors include most of my "wants" from a legal textbook: includes important/interesting/abridged cases, clearly and plainly explains the context, includes the language of the rule of evidence when appropriate, keeps the reader oriented within the broader topic, and, of course, provides plenty of really good practice problems. Dare I say I had fun (?!) applying my knowledge and intuition to the practice problems.

Could really use a new edition, as some sections are clearly outdated (e.g. this edition predated marriage equality via Obergefell v. Hodges, so the marital privilege section is longer than it needs to be).

That's a small nitpick, though. This book is good enough that I'll probably reread sections of this book in the future if I need a refresher.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am strongly in favor of the format of this book generally and thought it covered the topic well. That said, there were two things about this book I did not like. (1) The use of hypos is great, but they are often put before the rules, which I strongly dislike because it requires going back and forth, and it also has you guessing at the questions on your first pass. (2) The articles are great, but they sometimes get too into the weeds over high-level scholarly debate. This book is really for an introduction to the rules of evidence, and these end up being long-winded tangents.

[Klaudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mark Godsey hates this book, so I do too.

The cases don’t explain a damn thing.

If I have to read the James case about that woman who shot her boyfriend one more time I’m gonna lose it.

Also wtf is the difference between an exemption and an exception, and why is basically everything hearsay until it’s not?

Evidence I hate you

[Sam Hodgkins-Sumner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A veritable banger!

[Camryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

taking credit for my effort this semester. Top tier case book

[Mia Schemmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personally, I'm a Fisher fan. Love shortened cases... hate the million practice problems. I've read much worse. This is all hearsay though.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not really an enjoyable read (it is about the Federal Rules of Evidence, after all), this was easily one of the best textbooks I've ever had to read for a class. Relatively clear, well-organized, and written when both a sense of humor and for the ridiculousness and frequent underdeterminacy of the doctrine surrounding evidence.

[sologdin · Rating 2 out of 5]

definitely one of those subjects that every attorney should take in lawyer school--the course will more than likely be dull and the abstractions may not signify until one encounters the problem for real as a litigator. this text was a sufficiently useful guide.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good hypotheticals but I found Fisher's writing to be kind of terrible.