Evidence Tampering

Chris William Sanchirico ()

Law and Economics from EconWPA

Abstract: Current writing on “evidence tampering”—inclusive of the destruction, fabrication, and suppression of evidence—creates the impression that our system of litigation is in a state of fundamental disrepair. This article suggests that this perception may merely reflect defects in the conventional view of trial’s purpose. The conventional view sees trial as a standalone device for uncovering micro-historical truths about what has already come to pass. In contrast, this article advocates viewing trial as but one component of the overall mechanism by which the legal system influences everyday behavior. When trial is viewed less in terms of discerning past events, and more in terms of shaping future events, several apparently troublesome aspects of the existing system’s treatment of evidence tampering gain substantial justification, and the way is paved for a more fruitful evaluation of current doctrine.

Keywords: Evidence; procedure; Perjury; Obstruction of Justice; Contempt of Court; Discovery Sanctions; Inherent Power of Court; Spoliation; Spoliation Tort; Evidence Destruction; Document Retention Policies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C7 D8 D6 D7 H (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-law
Date: 2004-03-30
Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 100
View citations in EconPapers

Downloads: (external link)
http://129.3.20.41/eps/le/papers/0403/0403005.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Evidence Tampering
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wpa:wuwple:0403005

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Law and Economics from EconWPA
Series data maintained by EconWPA ().