This extensively revised second edition is a rigorous introduction to the construction and criticism of arguments about questions of fact, and to the marshalling and evaluation of evidence at all stages of litigation. It covers the basic concepts and principles underlying the logic of proof; the uses and dangers of story-telling; probabilities and proof; the chart method and other methods of analyzing and ordering evidence in fact-investigation, in preparing for trial, and in connection with other important decisions in legal processes and in criminal investigation and intelligence analysis. Most of the chapters in this new edition have been rewritten; the treatment of fact investigation, probabilities and narrative has been extended; and new examples and exercises have been added. Designed as a flexible tool for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on evidence and proof, students, practitioners and teachers alike will find this book challenging but rewarding.

Table of Contents

1. Evidence and inference: some food for thought; 2. Fact investigation and the nature of evidence; 3. Principles of proof; 4. Methods of analysis; 5. The chart method; 6. Outlines, chronologies and narrative; 7. Analysing the decided case: anatomy of a cause celebre; 8. Evaluating evidence; 9. Probabilities, weight and probative force; 10. Necessary but dangerous: generalizations and stories in argumentation about facts; 11. The principles of proof and the law of evidence; 12. The trial lawyer's standpoint.

About the Author

Terence Anderson is Professor of Law at the University of Miami. He is an experienced litigator and teacher of courses on methods of analysis, evidence, and trial practice. His writings include articles developing and illustrating topics covered in the book. David Schum is Professor of Law and Systems Engineering and Law at George Mason University. William Twining is Quain Professor of Jurisprudence Emeritus, University College London and a regular Visiting Professor at the University of Miami School of Law. His writings on evidence include rethinking Evidence (2nd edition, Cambridge University Press).