Rule 403: cost/benefit analysis- unfair prejudice
- confusion of issues
- misleading
- undue delay, waste, cumulative
Rule 403 interacts with Rules 401 and 402:- All relevant evidence is inherently prejudicial
- The 403 balancing process presents an accuracy dilemma
- Evidence is not an island onto itself
- Unfair prejudice occurs when an item of evidence provokes the jury to decide a case on an improper basis
- The mere fact that an item of evidence causes jurors to have an emotional response does not make it unfairly prejudicial
- Jurors are not logic machines
- Rule 403 offsets the lax standard set forth in Rules 401 & 402
- Unfair prejudice is not the only basis for exclusion under Rule 403
- Rule 403 (almost) always applicable and should (usually) be the last stop in determining admissibility
The point of this blog is to capture my own class notes during my tenure as a law student. Everything on here is my own work and reflects the knowledge and understanding of the law I possessed at the time. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License.
Please do not rely on this blog for legal advice. Consult an attorney for proper legal counseling.
