Jacobs v. State

This appeal, in its most significant aspect, requires us to stand far back and observe some fundamental characteristics of the criminal justice system that are too easily lost sight of when we get in so close that we lose perspective. It requires an appreciation of the functional difference between the common law of evidence and the constitutional law of evidence. It requires a sensitivity to the distinct traditions, purposes and rules of procedure surrounding those basically different limitations upon the fact-finding process. Macroscopic vision is sometimes as needed as microscopic vision.…