Sunday, March 11, 2007

Evidence on the Beach

Reading week prequel - I mean Spring break officially ended, and the weather was phenomenal today for the occasion. Being able to walk around outside in San Francisco in a tank-top is rare indeed.

I biked down to Ocean Beach and - yes, I defy the nature of law - I studied my Evidence outline. (::nod:: to Lawyerlike). For a minute there I even understood the difference between Admissions and Declarations Against Interest. Declarations are when the party actually says it, and Admissions are when they adopt a belief in the statement? Damn, almost had it.

The job search continues, and my leads are solidifying. I could tell you about them, but I'd have to kill you. Let me just say I'm pursuing an internship with a woman who once represented the estate of Jimi Hendrix. Nuff said, right?

I've written 12 pages of my research paper; and you can see my blood in the lines of type to prove it. I need 25 pages. I'm irked that we have to use endnotes, instead of footnotes, and that the endnote pages don't count towards the 25 pages. Brutal! I'm writing about the post-Grokster world of P2P file-sharing applications (using a theory of inducement to find secondary copyright infringement). Insights welcome.

3 comments:

Greg said...

Admissions are party (or party-affiliated) statements. Under federal rules, they're not hearsay. Under California rules, they're hearsay, but may be admitted under an exception.

Declarations or statements against interest are non-party statements that go so far against the interests (penal, fiscal, etc.) of the declarant that it's considered they would not have been made were they not true.

Admissions: statement by a party.
Declaration against interest: statement by a non-party.

Lawyerlike said...

I'd tell you to say to this Hendrix woman: "Excuse me while I kiss the sky," and then light your resume on fire, but that... that would be a declaration against interest.

Sansserif said...

Wait, it's not even hearsay under FRE? Does this have to do with the exemption vs. exception thing? I'm having trouble with that distinction too.

Thanks Greg.