Law reVIEW is a blog series dedicated to investigating and reviewing both popular and documentary films in the Chastek Library film collection. E RIN BROCKOVICH (2000) Julia Roberts stars in this hugely popular dramatized biographical film portrayal of the life of single mom, legal clerk, and activist, Erin Brockovich. Supported by the wonderful Albert Finney as attorney Ed Masry, this film tells the tale of the 1996 Anderson, et al. v. Pacific Gas and Electric arbitration that became what was then the largest direct action settlement in U.S. history. Beginning in 1992, Brockovich, with Masry's expertise and support, builds a case against the utility giant upon discovering evidence that PG&E covered-up their role in contaminating Hinkley, California's water supply with cancer-causing hexavalent chromium decades before through their use of unlined wastewater disposal ponds. Erin Brockovich currently holds an 84% on Rotten Tomato...
Hearsay, Hearsay! by Josh Simmons, J.D. Candidate, Class of 2023 On June 28th, the House Judiciary GOP tweeted out “It’s literally all hearsay evidence. What a joke” —in reference to the recent hearings held by the House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack. House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOPD), Twitter (June 28, 2022, 10:19 AM), https://twitter.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/1541833774966636544 . The tweet raises eyebrows among those familiar with the concept of hearsay evidence. For one, House Rules state that “the committee is the sole judge of the pertinence of testimony and evidence adduced at its hearing.” House Rule XI cl. 2(k)(8). Therefore, hearsay and other evidentiary rules found in the Federal Rules of Evidence do not apply to the Committee. See also Co-Equal, Guide to Oversight Procedural Rules in the U.S. House of Representatives, RESOURCES, https://www.co-equal.org/guide-to-oversight#guideIntro (last visited June 29, 2022). It is unclear, then, why the House GOP woul...
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