UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MINDANAO

COLLEGE OF LAW
2ND Year Second Semester
SY 2023-2024

To Students Intending to Enrollin Evidence:

Congratulations for reaching this far in your journey through the Law School. The
Dean's Ofice informned me that there are only nine (9) of you who would qualify for the
subject.
It is the goal of this subject not only to make Bar-passers out of you. Ihope that I can
be of help in making you good lawyers,in the sense that you will not only be learned in the
law, but also skilled in the art of advocacy. This entails that you know your law on Evidence
and how best to apply it in a courtroom setting.
Aspart of the preparations for the subject, you will have the following assignments:
1. Read the short story (6 pages) titled In a Grove" or "In a Bamboo Grove", by
Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa published in 1922. You can read any
translation, but for uniformity it is best to use the one by Takashi Kojima in
FULLREADS. It can easily be downloaded from the internet by simply entering the
title of the story and the author. This must be done before the class meets on
February 12, 2024.

2. Watch on You Tube Lee Harvey Oswald" (1986 Television Docu-Trial) [David
Von Pien's JFK Channel]. It is a television-documentary mock trial of the assassin
of John F. Kennedy. It features two (2) of Americas greatest trial lawyers clash in
court. The film is presented in 25 parts, lasting for many hours. So it will be an
ongoing project until the semester ends. You can watch a segment lasting for 5-10
minutes as a form of relaxation and if you have a free time, watch the longer ones.
But do it sequentially. Since there are so many similar videos, editions, and
commercial movies, on the subject, to avoid confusion, be sure that you open the title
above indicated and the editor named.

This is the first time that I've used these materials after years of teaching the subject.
They will not be part of any examination, but from time to time they will be referred to in the
lectures. They serve as good introduction to the study of Evidence. In particular, it helps us
understand the complexities in the search for truth, as interacts with perception, memory,
human nature, bias, beliefs and motivation. Ultimately, they will make us realize why we
need to study Evidence, highlight the limitations of the court trial process, even as they
challenge us about our understanding of truth, the search for human justice and ultimately
our vision of the world.

Thank you and see you on February 12, 2024, virtually or face-to-face.
February 5, 2024, Kidapawan City, Cotabato.

GIL A. DELA BANDA

Instructor in Evidence