Professor Imwinkelried Joins Supreme Court Amicus Brief on Evidence Law

Federal Rule of Evidence 704(b) limits the extent to which experts in criminal cases may testify whether the accused did or did not have the state of mind required for the charged offense or a defense. Congress enacted the limitations as a backlash against the acquittal of John Hinckley in his prosecution for the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. Since the passage of the legislation, lower courts have struggled with the interpretation of the provision;  and until 2023 the Supreme Court had never accepted a case raising the issue. However, in 2023 the Court agreed to hear DIAZ V. UNITED STATES, No. 23-14. 

On Feb. 1, the Evidence Section of the Association of American Law Schools filed an amicus curiae brief in the case. Professor Emeritus Edward J. Imwinkelried is one of the signatories. Imwinkelried contributed arguments that he had developed earlier in his chapters for the seventh and eighth editions of the McCORMICK ON EVIDENCE treatise.

Imwinkelried is a world-renowned evidence expert who has published extensively in the field.