John Barkai Hawaii Rules of Evidence Handbook with Common Objections & Evidentiary Foundations lit

A courtroom-ready handbook with the Hawaii Rules of Evidence, common trial objections, evidentiary foundations—now includes free, 24/7, BarkaiBots AI courtroom simulations for practicing advocacy skills that provide individualized, personal feedback and coaching based on the user’s questioning and advocacy performance. Updated March 2026. The HRE has not been amended since 2011.

The Hawaii Rules of Evidence Handbook with Common Trial Objections & Evidentiary Foundations was designed to be used in court and kept at your side in the office. Designed for quick courtroom reference when objections are made and evidence must be admitted. this practical guide includes:
1. A 16-page section on making and responding to common objections, including a list of over 60 trial objections.
2. More than 60 pages devoted to evidentiary foundations and impeachment, including 26 practical examples of foundations for introducing physical evidence, electronic evidence, hearsay, social media, emails, text messages, internet sites, authentication of digital evidence, and sample impeachment foundations.
New for 2026, this book also includes free access to BarkaiBots, interactive AI courtroom simulations that function as responsive practice partners and built-in coaches. Using a free ChatGPT account, lawyers and law students can rehearse courtroom advocacy 24/7 through realistic simulations with witnesses, judges, and opposing counsel, followed by coaching feedback after practice.

This handbook also contains: 1) a brief history of the rules of evidence and restyling efforts across the U.S., 2) case law divergence from the Hawaii Rules of Evidence, 3) differences between the Hawaii rules and the Federal rules (updated in 2026), and 4) Hawaii rules that do not appear in the federal rules.

This guide was written for working lawyers and law students who must apply evidence rules in real time. When a witness answers unexpectedly or opposing counsel objects, there is no time to search through lengthy treatises. The handbook provides quick reminders of the most common objections and the foundations needed to introduce evidence at trial. The examples are designed to be read aloud and practiced so that phrasing becomes natural and the sequencing of questions becomes second nature.

The included BarkaiBots extend that practice beyond the printed page. Instead of simply reading examples, users can rehearse courtroom questioning in interactive simulations that respond in real time and then provide coaching feedback to help refine their advocacy.

This handbook includes practical courtroom foundations for introducing a photograph, diagram, real evidence, illustrative aids, a contract, refreshing memory, writing used to refresh memory, refreshing memory with a leading question, recorded recollection, business records (including custodian of records and self-authenticating records), demonstrative evidence similar to the real item, impeachment by prior written inconsistent statement, impeachment by omission, impeachment by inconsistent deposition testimony (short and long form), impeachment by inconsistent oral statement, learned treatises on direct and cross examination, voicemail and recorded telephone conversations, digital evidence (electronically stored information), email (incoming and outgoing), text messages, social media (X, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter), internet websites and web postings, incoming fax transmissions, and expert opinion testimony.

Professor Barkai is a former Detroit criminal trial lawyer, a full-time law professor for 50+ years, has taught evidence since 1981, has served on the Hawaii Supreme Court’s Standing Committee on the Rules of Evidence since 1993, been a professor at the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai for 48 years, and published over 160 evidence handbooks.