The Federal Rules of Evidence and the Quality of Practice in Federal Courts

One point that I shall endeavor to make today is that the Federal Rules of Evidence offer an opportunity for dramatic improvement in federal trial court practice. In the hands of the most experienced practitioner or the novice litigator just weaned from law school, the evidence rules offer a promise of even-handed justice that has heretofore been unavailable. Used properly, the Federal Rules of Evidence hold out a promise that trials might be less costly to litigants in terms of out-of-pocket expenditures, that the societal costs associated with erroneous decisions by trial judges might be reduced, and that federal litigants\u27 satisfaction with the results of litigation might be increased