The Rules of Evidence Applicable in Maryland Trial Courts

Abstract

This paper was prepared as a handout in conjunction with a presentation at the The Renaissance Institute, College of Notre Dame. The major sections of the paper are as follows: Why Do We Need Rules of Evidence, Anyway?; Respective Roles of the Judge and the Jury; Direct Evidence and Circumstantial Evidence; The Most Basic Rule: The Requirement of Relevance; The "Clean-Up Batter": Rule 5-403; An Example of a Specific Application of These General Principles: Character Evidence and the "Propensity Rule"; Exceptions to the Propensity Rule that are Available Only in Criminal Cases.

Keywords: rules of evidence, judges, juries, trial system, direct evidence, circumstantial evidence, relevance requirement, character evidence, propensity rule, civil law, criminal law

JEL Classification: K19, K29, K39, K49