Updated to incorporate legislative and practical changes enacted since the previous edition, this volume is designed for professionals and students requiring edification on the current processes and techniques of legal procedure. New topics in this edition include the non-discoverability of the expert's draft reports as mandated by FRCP26; the issue of destruction of evidence as it effects discovery and tests, experiments, and chain of custody; new and updated information on differing rules among states regarding who is an expert and whether that testimony will be admitted into evidence; and the reissuance of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure with new subsections.

Before Trial. Filing Suit, or Legal Paperwork. Discovery in General. Depositions. Other Discovery Techniques. Failure to Cooperate in Discovery. Pretrial Conferences. The Rules of Evidence. Fundamental Concepts. Who Is an Expert and When Can One Testify.The Form of Questions to an Expert. Tests, Experiments, and the Chain of Custody. Common Knowledge and Routine Practice. Real Evidence. Exhibits and Demonstrations. The Rule Against Hearsay. Hearsay Exceptions I: Introduction. Hearsay Exceptions II: Writings and Records. Hearsay Exceptions III: Printed Matter. Hearsay Exceptions IV: Miscellaneous. Best Evidence Rule.A "Real" Case. Suggestions and Hints for Expert Witnesses. Presenting Direct Testimony. Withstanding Cross-Examination. Appendices and Case Listing. Appendix A: Extracts from the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (in Numerical Order). Appendix B: Extracts from the Federal Rules of Evidence (in Numerical Order). Appendix C: Table of Illustrative Cases. Index.