Recent Developments Under the Indiana Rules of Evidence

Abstract

This past year was the third year for the Indiana courts under the new regime of the Indiana Rules of Evidence, which took effect on January 1, 1994. Paralleling the two-decades-old Federal Rules of Evidence and similar rules adopted by many states, the Rules have effected a major dislocation of Indiana's prior approach to evidence questions. The courts have thus had to re-evaluate the rationales for their common-law decisions as part of the process of determining the extent of the changes made by the Rules. The cases that came before the courts during the time period covered by this survey required the courts to adopt new approaches to issues spanning the spectrum of evidence law. Although the adaptation to the new Rules can be expected to continue over the coming years, the Indiana courts have already begun to chart an independent path in their interpretations of the text of the Rules, departing in some significant ways from the approaches taken by the federal courts and by other state courts using analogous evidence rules. This Article surveys the major developments in Indiana evidence caselaw during the past year, organized according to the corresponding Articles in the Indiana Rules of Evidence.