Document Type
Article
Publication Title
University of Pennsylvania Law Review
Publication Date
1-2012
ISSN
0041-9907
Page Number
331
Keywords
sense impressions, communication norms, hearsay, social media
Disciplines
Evidence | Law | Law and Society
Abstract
The intricate legal framework governing the admission of out-of-court statements in American trials is premised on increasingly outdated communi- cation norms. Nowhere is this more apparent than with the hearsay exception for "present sense impressions." Changing communication practices typified by interactions on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter herald the arrival of a previously uncontemplated-and uniquely unreliable-breed of present sense impressions. This Article contends that the indiscriminate admission of these electronic present sense impressions (e-PSIs) is both normatively undesirable and inconsistent with the traditional rationale for the present sense impression exception. It proposes a reform to the exception that would exclude t Assistant Professor of Law, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law. I would like to thank Edward Imwinkelried, Colin Miller, and the participants in the SMU Faculty Forum for their comments on a draft of this Article. Donna Bowman and Octavio Dominguez contributed valuable research assistance. The Article would not have been possible without the patience and support of Catherine Zoe Garrett.
Recommended Citation
Jeffrey Bellin,
Facebook, Twitter, and the Uncertain Future of Present Sense Impressions, 160 University of Pennsylvania Law Review. 331
(2012)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/faculty-publications/1672