Webinar
5:30 PM to 7:30 PM (Eastern Daylight Time)
The Rules of Evidence are used on a daily basis in the legal system, but little thought is given to how those rules reflect the cultural norms, sensibilities, and racial biases operating at an institutional and societal level at the time they were written. Practitioners and laypeople alike may believe that the Rules of Evidence are unbiased and equitable, but we find racially coded language throughout, and the application of these rules cannot escape the system in which they are employed. Often times, race and racism themselves are used as de facto evidence and sources of proof. This program will explore the development of the Rules of Evidence, examining what was going on at the time the rules were developed, the many examples of how parties do not experience equitable evidentiary burdens, and the negative effect that racially-biased use of the Rules of Evidence can have on the economic empowerment of people of color. From lack of evidentiary scrutiny to the introduction of antiracist expert evidence, we can see how race is used as a proxy for credibility and character, further enflaming racial stereotypes and negatively influencing jurisprudential decision making.