The Supreme Judicial Court and its Executive Committee on
Massachusetts Evidence Law recently announced the release of the 2017 edition of the Massachusetts Guide to
Evidence. The justices of the Supreme Judicial Court recommend
use of the guide by the bench, bar and public.
"The Executive Committee has updated and expanded the
Massachusetts Guide to Evidence to reflect new legal developments,
and I am most appreciative of their excellent work," Supreme
Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants said. "The Guide is an
invaluable practical research tool and important resource for
understanding Massachusetts evidence law. Attorneys, judges, and
self-represented litigants rely on the Guide daily in courts
throughout the Commonwealth."
The 2017 edition is the ninth annual edition of the Guide. An
electronic version is available without charge on the court's
website, where it can be searched and downloaded. The Official
Print Edition of the 2017 edition of the Massachusetts Guide to
Evidence is available for purchase here from the Flaschner Judicial Institute,
which is again providing a complimentary copy to every sitting
judge in the commonwealth. The Massachusetts Guide to Evidence
assembles existing Massachusetts evidence law in an easy-to-use
document organized similarly to the Federal Rules of Evidence. The
Guide includes extensive explanatory notes and citations to
pertinent authorities.
The 2017 edition of the Guide reflects developments in
Massachusetts evidence law that occurred between January 1, 2016
and December 31, 2016. In addition to incorporating dozens of new
opinions issued in 2016 by the Supreme Judicial Court and the
Appeals Court, the 2017 edition contains substantial revisions,
including: (1) addition to Section 102 of different types of cases
where the new abuse of discretion standard has been used; (2)
changes to Section 103 (Rulings on Evidence, Objections, and Offers
of Proof) to reflect changes in the requirement that a party
objecting to a ruling on a pretrial motion in limine must restate
the objection at trial; (3) a new addition to the Note to Section
403 addressing cases involving evidence of similar occurrences; (4)
an overhaul of Section 1114 (Restitution); and (5) a new Section
1116 on the use of, and objections to, peremptory challenges of
potential jurors.
In 2006, the Supreme Judicial Court established the Advisory
Committee to prepare a Massachusetts Guide to Evidence at the
request of the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Boston Bar
Association, and the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys.
In 2008, the Supreme Judicial Court appointed the Executive
Committee of the Advisory Committee on Massachusetts Evidence Law
to monitor and incorporate new legal developments and produce
annual new editions of the Guide. Appeals Court Judge Peter Agnes
chairs the Executive Committee and is the editor-in-chief of the
Guide. The other members of the Executive Committee are:
Attorney Elizabeth N. Mulvey (editor); Hon. Mark S. Coven
(editor); Clerk of the Appeals Court Joseph F. Stanton (reporter);
Hon. Stephen M. Limon; Hon. Barbara Hyland; Supreme Judicial Court
Senior Attorney A.W. "Chip" Phinney; New England Law Boston
Professor Philip K. Hamilton; Boston University School of Law
Professor Mark Petit; Benjamin K. Golden, Esq.; Edmund P. Daley
III, Esq.; Appeals Court Law Clerk Anthony Podesta, Esq.; and
Supreme Judicial Court Justice David A. Lowy, who has been a member
of the Committee since its inception, and now serves as a
consulting member.