This month, Gov. Nathan Deal signed legislation adopting new rules of evidence for Georgia courts. This is not just good news for lawyers and judges but for all the citizens of Georgia.
Why do I say this? Well, consider what could happen if Georgia had instead chosen to stay with the same evidence code it’s had since the Civil War.
A woman makes a frantic 911 call. A “road rage” driver has tried to run her off the highway. He threw something that hit her car. She gives the 911 operator the dangerous driver’s tag number. The police look up the tag and go to the driver’s house. He is not there but his mother is. She says her son has the car. The officer leaves his card with the mother. The son calls the police officer later and admits that he was the “road rage” driver. The driver is charged, tried and convicted.
Simple case, right? Not so fast.
The conviction is thrown out on appeal. It runs afoul of several antiquated rules under Georgia’s 150-year-old evidence code, and the man successfully argues that, although he had identified himself and admitted his crime during a phone interview, this evidence was inadmissible under the state rules as they existed at the time.
The rules of evidence control what facts can and cannot be admitted at trial and tell judges and lawyers how to get the facts admitted. Our 19th-century evidence rules do not fit the 21st century very well. Phones did not exist when Georgia’s evidence code was written in 1860, let alone cars, videos, computers, or even Facebook.
The road to passage of the new evidence rules was neither smooth nor swift. It is not easy getting competing groups of trial lawyers to agree on anything. The State Bar first urged adoption more than 20 years ago. Nathan Deal, then leader of the Senate, carried the new rules to unanimous approval in the Senate only to have the rules languish in the House. When Speaker Tom Murphy left the House, the State Bar renewed its efforts to bring new evidence rules to Georgia. It took the patient, determined leadership of Rep. Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs, more than three years to bring the new rules to final passage in the House and Senate. Now Georgia’s judges and lawyers have new, improved tools to administer justice in our courts. The benefits may not be as visible to non-lawyers as a new highway or hospital but they are just as real.
One of government’s most important roles is adjudication. Whether it’s a felony murder case, a civil dispute between two businesses, a workers’ compensation hearing, or a simple driver’s license revocation, we rely upon competent, careful courts to hear the evidence and issue fair and rational decisions.
The rules should enhance, not impede, the discovery of truth. They should be up to date and easy to use. They should focus on the needs of 21st-century courts, not the idiosyncrasies of 19th-century jurisprudence.
Georgia’s new evidence code is based on the modern codes now used in federal courts and 43 other states, including every state that touches Georgia. Now our citizens can start enjoying the benefits these other jurisdictions gained from the new codes. Our taxpayers will benefit from a more economical and efficient use of our court system. Our businesses will benefit from greater consistency and predictability in dispute resolution. Likewise, a more modern and familiar legal system is attractive to businesses that may want to move to Georgia. Our citizens will benefit from a criminal justice system that is fairer and more effective.
Paul S. Milich, professor of law at Georgia State University College of Law, was the reporter for the State Bar of Georgia committee that proposed new rules of evidence for Georgia.
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