January 18, 2013

In the 1948 case Michelson v. United States, the Supreme Court was urged to adopt a new rule for cross-examinations about prior arrests. Justice Jackson, writing for the majority, declined the invitation, opining that “to pull one misshapen stone out of the grotesque structure is more likely simply to upset its present balance between adverse interests than to establish a rational edifice.”

In the 65 years since Justice Jackson wrote these words, evidence law has undergone extensive reforms. But has it evolved? Can it? Has evidence reform facilitated the pursuit of justice in our courts, or has it simply endeavored to build a rational edifice out of misshapen stones?

When its new Rules of Evidence go into effect on January 1, 2013, Georgia will be the forty-fourth state to adopt a new evidence code modeled on the Federal Rules of Evidence. The Symposium issue of the Georgia Law Review’s 47th volume will celebrate the modernization of Georgia’s evidence code by examining the broader reform movement from which it grew. Contributors will comment on the achievements and shortcomings of evidence reform as they pertain to specific areas of trial work. By dedicating this year’s Symposium to the topic, the Review hopes to provide a forum for discussion and debate about the past, present, and future of evidence law.

The Symposium is sponsored by the University of Georgia School of Law and the Georgia Law Review.