Alabama State Bar

Judge William H. Filmore, Tobie J. Smith, and J. Patrick Lamb Most Often Cited Rule of Evidence: 404(b) The first sentence of Alabama Rules of Evidence Rule 404(b) gives the general rule: “Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith.”

By Judge Elisabeth A. French, Julia T. Cochrun, and LaBella S. McCallum With changes in the law school curriculums in terms of evidence requirements, many in the legal profession have observed that attorney trial skills have declined in recent years.

By Megan K. McCarthy and Jason S. McCormick In September 2019, district courts in Alabama became much more active for a civil lawyer because the district court’s jurisdictional limit increased from $10,000 to $20,000.

By Judge William D. Motlow and R. Bradley Phillips There is a misconception among some attorneys that the Rules of Evidence do not apply during proceedings in the probate courts of this state. Rule 1101 of the Rules states the “rules of evidence apply in all proceedings in the courts of Alabama.”

By Judge W. Scott Donaldson “The Constitution guarantees a fair trial through the Due Process Clauses...[A] fair trial is one in which evidence subject to adversarial testing is presented to an impartial tribunal for resolution of issues defined in advance of the proceeding.”