Judge William Scott Donaldson has designed this notebook to be used in Alabama courtrooms to provide concise, comprehensible ideas to address selected evidence and procedural questions that often arise during a trial. There are several excellent treatises on Alabama evidence law that provide much more detailed analysis of the issues discussed in this notebook along with case citations. In the courtroom, however, we are not concerned with the history of a rule of evidence or the philosophy behind the adoption of the rule. In trial, we usually need a quick answer. If more time is needed, the excellent treatises may be consulted during a recess.
Scott Donaldson is a Judge on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. He was a circuit judge in the Sixth Judicial Circuit from 2003 until 2013. Before becoming a trial judge, he practiced law for over 18 years and was elected to the State Bar Commission and State Bar Disciplinary Commission.
He is a Fellow of the Alabama Law Foundation, a graduate of Leadership Alabama, and is a commissioner from Alabama on the National Uniform Law Commission. Donaldson is a faculty member at the National Judicial College where he teaches an advanced evidence course to judges throughout the country, and has taught courses for judicial associations in several states.
He is as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Alabama Law School, and regularly teaches educational courses for the Alabama Judicial College. He is a frequent speaker at legal and judicial education conferences on various topics.
