Bootstrapping (law)
Encyclopedia
The bootstrapping rule in the rules of evidence
dealt with admissibility as non-hearsay
of statements of conspiracy in United States federal courts
. The rule was, in a criminal prosecution for conspiracy
, the court, in deciding whether to allow the jury to consider a statement of conspiracy, cannot hear the statement itself, and that the allegation should be supported by independent evidence.
If the independent evidence convinced the court that a conspiracy probably existed, only then could such a statement be introduced into trial and heard by the jury. Allowing such statements of conspiracy to prove the existence of conspiracy was considered similar to bootstrapping. In the United States, the bootstrapping rule has been eliminated from the Federal Rules of Evidence
, as decided by the Supreme Court
in the Bourjaily case.
For example, say a man commits four crimes. Unless the evidence is connectable to each crime, each piece of evidence can be used only in each separate crime and not to link each crime to the other.
In law, bootstrapping can also refer to an attempt to gain jurisdiction over a non-jurisdictional matter through its circuitous relationship to a jurisdictional matter.
Rules of evidence
Rules of evidence govern whether, when, how, and for what purpose, proof of a legal case may be placed before a trier of fact for consideration....
dealt with admissibility as non-hearsay
Hearsay
Hearsay is information gathered by one person from another person concerning some event, condition, or thing of which the first person had no direct experience. When submitted as evidence, such statements are called hearsay evidence. As a legal term, "hearsay" can also have the narrower meaning of...
of statements of conspiracy in United States federal courts
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
. The rule was, in a criminal prosecution for conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
, the court, in deciding whether to allow the jury to consider a statement of conspiracy, cannot hear the statement itself, and that the allegation should be supported by independent evidence.
If the independent evidence convinced the court that a conspiracy probably existed, only then could such a statement be introduced into trial and heard by the jury. Allowing such statements of conspiracy to prove the existence of conspiracy was considered similar to bootstrapping. In the United States, the bootstrapping rule has been eliminated from the Federal Rules of Evidence
Federal Rules of Evidence
The is a code of evidence law governing the admission of facts by which parties in the United States federal court system may prove their cases, both civil and criminal. The Rules were enacted in 1975, with subsequent amendments....
, as decided by the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
in the Bourjaily case.
For example, say a man commits four crimes. Unless the evidence is connectable to each crime, each piece of evidence can be used only in each separate crime and not to link each crime to the other.
In law, bootstrapping can also refer to an attempt to gain jurisdiction over a non-jurisdictional matter through its circuitous relationship to a jurisdictional matter.