Before Trial
Filing Suit, or Legal Paperwork
Complaint
Answer
Counterclaims, Cross-Claims, Third-Party Claims, and Class Actions
Discovery in General
Policy Considerations
Depositions
Other Discovery Techniques
Failure to Cooperate in Discovery
Pretrial Conferences
The Rules of Evidence
Fundamental Concepts
"Burden of Proof"
Origins of the Law of Evidence
Weight and Admissibility
The Fundamental Rule of Evidence
Who Is an Expert and When Can One Testify
The Form of Questions to an Expert
Tests, Experiments, and the Chain of Custody
Tests and Experiments
Chain of Custody
Common Knowledge and Routine Practice
Real Evidence
Exhibits and Demonstrations
The Rule Against Hearsay
Hearsay Exceptions I: Introduction
Hearsay Exceptions II: Writings and Records
Past Recollection Recorded, Present Recollection Revived
Government Records
Hearsay Exceptions III: Printed Matter
Hearsay Exceptions IV: Miscellaneous
Best Evidence Rule
A "Real" Case
Suggestions and Hints for Expert Witnesses
Presenting Direct Testimony
Organizing Narrative Testimony
Be a Teacher
Presenting the Testimony
Withstanding Cross-Examination
Appendices and Case Listing
Appendix A: Extracts from the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (in Numerical Order)
Appendix B: Extracts from the Federal Rules of Evidence (in Numerical Order)
Appendix C: Table of Illustrative Cases
Index
Biography
Daniel A. Bronstein is a professor at Michigan State University where he teaches environmental law in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and medical jurisprudence in the medical schools. He received his bachelor of arts in biophysics from Johns Hopkins University and his bachelor of law from the University of Maryland. After practicing trial law in his native Baltimore for five years, he decided to go into teaching. He received his master of law and doctor of jurisprudential science degrees from the University of Michigan. He has taught at Michigan State University since 1972.
Bronstein was editor of Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, the refereed journal of the International Association for Impact Assessment, from 1993 to 2000 and is currently a member of its publications committee. He is the author of five books, eleven monographs, and numerous journal articles, and is admitted to the practice of law in both Maryland and Michigan. He is an ex-officio member of the council of Section K of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served as chair of the Committee on Environmental Law and as a vice chair of the Committee on Scientific Evidence of the American Bar Association
Praise for the previous edition:
"[T]he best text on this subject written for the expert witness."
—Jurimetrics Journal
