Evidence: Hearsay, expert testimony, authentication, and ethics

Dan Schiavetta

Russo & Gould, LLP

Dan Schiavetta, Jr. (currently of Counsel to Russo & Gould, LLP, New York, N.Y.) spent twenty years defending Catholic institutions in sexual abuse lawsuits.

Brandi Hinton

Ellis Hinton Law

Brandi Hinton is a former federal and state prosecutor who has handled thousands of criminal cases both as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney.

On-Demand: October 21, 2022

Evidence: Hearsay, expert testimony, authentication, and ethics

$245.00 3 hour CLE

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Program Summary

Session I - Hearsay: Admission by party opponent, statements, and business records – Brandi Hinton

Hearsay is one of the most common objections in trial. It can be an intimidating but useful tool. With a wide variety of exceptions, oftentimes the information is admissible – if you know which portion of the rule to reference. This section will assist you in navigating some of the most common and useful exceptions.

Key topics to be discussed:

Admission by party opponent
Prior inconsistent statement
Statement for the purpose of medical diagnosis
Business record

Session II - Expert Witness Testimony – Dan M. Schiavetta

This presentation reviews both the pretrial and trial aspects of expert witness testimony, including selecting an expert, what materials to give her, how the materials will be incorporated into her report, the problems with relying on electronically stored information, laying a foundation for expert testimony, how expert opinion can either pass or fail on Daubert grounds, and the good and bad ways to present direct testimony and cross-examination.

Key topics to be discussed:

What your expert’s file should contain
Daubert hearings/motions
The 9 ways expert testimony can be attacked
Rehabilitating your expert

Session III – Authentication and Exhibits – Dan M. Schiavetta

How can exhibits be authenticated in this age of electronically stored information? What kinds of exhibits can be presented or objected to? Though general rules will be given, these issues depend on the facts of each case and this presentation goes into a lot of federal case law to give an idea of how to proceed when it’s time to prepare the case you have just been given.

Key topics to be discussed:

Real v. Demonstrative v. Illustrative Evidence
When prejudice outweighs probative value
Logistics of presenting physical evidence in court

Session IV – Where Evidence meets Ethics – Dan M. Schiavetta

Much useful evidence can be obtained by lying to people, breaking into their houses, spying on them, and blackmailing them. However, to keep one’s law license one cannot do that. The ethics of obtaining and presenting evidence involve rules that are not always intuitive. This presentation discusses how far one can go in zealously representing one’s client.

Key topics to be discussed:

The duty of candor to court, client, adversary
Inadvertent disclosure, by yourself or your adversary
Ethical issues with evidence prejudicial to your client
Privilege and confidentiality pitfalls

Date: October 21, 2022

Closed-captioning available

Speakers

Dan Schiavetta | Russo & Gould, LLP

Dan Schiavetta, Jr. (currently of Counsel to Russo & Gould, LLP, New York, N.Y.) spent twenty years defending Catholic institutions in sexual abuse lawsuits. He is admitted in New York, New Jersey, and all related federal courts. He has also given a number of live presentations and webinars on insurance coverage, electronically stored information in litigation, and defense of nursing homes; and is on the CPLR Committee of the New York State Bar Association.

Brandi Hinton | Ellis Hinton Law

Brandi Hinton is a former federal and state prosecutor who has handled thousands of criminal cases both as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney. A Columbia, South Carolina native and a graduate of the University of South Carolina, Brandi attended law school at the Charleston School of Law where she was a member of the Moot Court Board, Student Trial Lawyers Association, Phi Delta Phi, Orientation Committee, Academic Support Search Committee, James L. Pettigru Inn of Court and served on the Alumni Association Board. Upon graduation from law school she was chosen as a member of the Charleston School of Law Forensic Club.

After graduating from law school, Brandi clerked for the Honorable Mikell R. Scarborough during the height of the foreclosure crisis in Charleston County. She then worked in the Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office in both Greenville and Pickens counties for eight years where she handled thousands of cases and tried over twenty-five cases including murder, criminal sexual conduct, armed robbery, burglary, domestic violence, white collar, drug trafficking and bank robbery.

Brandi, along with her partner Sloan Ellis, was an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina. As a federal prosecutor, she was assigned to the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force where she prosecuted large scale drug trafficking crimes. She also prosecuted complex white collar crimes such as wire fraud, money laundering and PPP fraud in addition to racketeering (RICO), violent crimes in aid of racketeering (VICAR), bank robbery and Hobbs Act robbery cases. Brandi was on the team of prosecutors who prosecuted the largest federal racketeering conspiracy in South Carolina history. Brandi was the recipient of the 2021 United States Attorney’s award for excellence in prosecution.

Outside of work, Brandi serves on the Julie Valentine Center Board of Directors and is a member of the Haynsworth-Perry Inn of Court.