SMARTEVIDENCE: COMMERCIAL LITIGATION 2012 is not intended to be a comprehensive treatise on the law of evidence but concise enough to be thrown in a briefcase on the way to court. Although the best practice is to anticipate and research evidentiary issues before they arise in the courtroom, SMARTEVIDENCE is a quick reference for litigators who are faced with the need to address unexpected evidentiary issues and do not have the opportunity to research these issues before providing the court with argument in support of their positions. Evidentiary issues covered include the opening statement, relevancy and relevancy exceptions, document issues, hearsay, witnesses and testimony, opinion testimony and expert witnesses, judicial notice, and closing argument. Included in this 2012 guide are the new Illinois Rules of Evidence that are most germane to commercial litigation, effective January 1, 2011, and a list of the major potential objections.

Mitchell L. Marinello, Timothy J. Miller, Rebekah H. Parker, and Alison T. Schwartz
Novack and Macey LLP, Chicago

• Major potential objections
• Relevancy:
• Definitions
• Conditional relevance
• rounds for excluding relevant evidence
• Document issues:
• Authentication of documents
• Best-evidence rule/original writing rule
• Summaries
• Parol-evidence rule
• Hearsay:
• Non-hearsay admissions
• Non-hearsay — effect on listener
• Non-hearsay — legally operative facts
• Hearsay exceptions; declarant’s availability immaterial
• Hearsay exceptions; declarant unavailable
• Attacking and supporting credibility of declarant
• Witnesses and testimony:
• Competency
• Exception to competency — Dead-Man’s Act
• Laying the foundation for testimony based on personal knowledge
• Objections to questions
• Refreshing present recollection
• Impeachment
• Exclusion of witnesses
• Opinion testimony and expert witnesses:
• Lay opinion testimony
• Experts
• Judicial notice
• Closing argument