April 2020 Bar Bulletin
By Anthony Marsh
Survey after survey finds that lawyers are not trusted by the public. One can guess about the reasons for this: media portrayals, negative personal experiences, or the (perhaps unearned) cultural understanding that a key part of a lawyer’s profession is gaming the truth to win. The latter may be an unfair characterization. But a review of the tools a lawyer has to use to win does provide a basis for this belief. Our rules of evidence are based on the idea that the judicial system has to keep certain facts away from jurors for their own good. Evidence Rule 403 leaves entirely in...