Pentagon Sets Rules for Detainee Trials

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

if we don't trust the trier of fact to be able to discard obviously unreliable evidence then why do we trust it with anything? again, the hearsay rule isn't used anywhere else and they all seem to get along just fine.

Some hearsay evidence is exceptionally powerful, and the jury are not lawyers (at least generally) - as such they are likely not to appreciate the downside of hearsay.

I'm not sure what you mean by the assertion "the hearsay rule isn't used anywhere else." The hearsay rule is included in the English judicial system, as well as every other system that originated from English common law, including the Canadian system and the Australian system, in addition to our own, among many others. The hearsay rule has been in effect for more than 400 years, predating our own country by something like 175 years. As far as I'm concerned the non-common law judicial systems that do not exclude hearsay are generally inferior to our own.

Are you a lawyer? I take it if you are you probably aren't a litigator, eh?