Christopher B. Mueller
 |
Evidence; Civil Procedure; Complex Litigation; Class Action
401 UCB
2450 Kittredge Loop Drive
Wolf Law Building
Boulder, CO 80309
Office: 415
Phone: (303) 492-6973
E-mail: christopher.mueller@colorado.edu
| Educational Background: | |||
| J.D. | University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall | 1969 | |
| A.B. | Haverford College | 1966 | |
Prior to joining the faculty of Colorado Law School, Christopher Mueller was a professor of law at the Universities of Illinois and Wyoming. For many years, his scholarship has focused on evidence law, particularly the rules governing hearsay and impeachment, and issues under the confrontation clause associated with hearsay.
His interest in hearsay stems from his interest in, as he says, "the tension between the tendency of lawyers to interpret language grammatically and structurally and the human tendency to speak by indirection, analogy, idiom, and image." He notes that "hearsay doctrine is too often interpreted literally, and too often interpreted so as to overlook the senses in which language has operative effect."
In recent years, he turned his attention also to Civil Procedure, and his current writing project is a coursebook entitled Twenty First Century Procedure, to be published by Wolters-Kluwer in 2013. He used a draft first edition of the book in 2011 and will use a revised version in Fall 2012.
Professor Mueller has written a five-volume treatise, Federal Evidence, that is updated annually and cited approximately twice a week by appellate courts across the country, state and federal, and has been cited five times by the United States Supreme Court. He is also the author of a coursebook entitled Evidence Under the Rules, currently in its Seventh Edition, that is in use in more than 100 law schools. He has also written Evidence Practice Under the Rules, a one-volume source for judges and lawyers. Finally, he has written a student hornbook entitled Evidence and a Black Letter Outline of Evidence, both in frequent use in law schools across the country. Professor Laird Kirkpatrick of George Washington University collaborated with Professor Mueller on the evidence projects, and Professor Charles H. Rose III of Stetson University joined Professors Mueller and Kirkpatrick in writing a practice commentary for Evidence Practice Under the Rules.
Major media outlets and newspapers across the country called on Professor Mueller during their coverage of important national trials. For example, in connection with the Oklahoma City bombing trial of Timothy McVeigh, Professor Mueller appeared several times on The Jim Lehrer Newshour, and was frequently interviewed on National Public Radio. In addition to his work in revising Twenty First Century Procedure, Professor Mueller is working on a new edition of the five-volume Treatise Federal Evidence, to be published in 2013.
Published Books
| Evidence (5th ed. 2012, Wolters-Kluwer) (with Laird C. Kirkpatrick). |
| Evidence Practice Under the Rules (4th ed. 2012, Wolters-Kluwer) (with Laird C. Kirkpatrick and Charles H. Rose III). |
| Evidence Black Letter (3d ed. 2012, Thompson-West) (with Laird C. Kirkpatrick). |
| Twenty-First Century Procedure (Draft 1st edition 2011, Aspen Custom Publishing). |
| Evidence Under the Rules (7th ed. 2011, Wolters-Kluwer) (with Laird C. Kirkpatrick). |
| Rules of Evidence, With Advisory Committee's Notes and Legislative History (2012, Wolters-Kluwer) (with Laird C. Kirkpatrick). |
| Federal Evidence (3rd ed. 2007, Thompson-West) (5-volume set; annual pocket part supplementation, with Laird C. Kirkpatrick). |
Articles
| Taking A Second Look at MDL Mass Product Liability Settlements: Somebody Needs to Do it, 65 Kansas L. Rev. 531 (2017). |
| "Make Him An Offer He Can't Refuse" - Mezzanatto Waivers As Lynchpin of Prosecutorial Overreach, 82 Mo. L. Rev. 1023 (2017). |
| Mueller (with Laird Kirkpatrick), Prior Consistent Statements: The Dangers of Misinterpreting Recently Amended Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(1)(B), 84 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. Arguendo 193 (2016). |
| Cross-Examination Earlier or Later: When Is It Enough to Satisfy Crawford?, 19 Regent U. L. Rev. 319 (2007). |
| Daubert Asks the Right Questions: Now Appellate Courts Should Help Find the Right Answers, 33 Seton Hall L. Rev. 987 (2003). |
Book Chapters
| Of Misshapen Stones and Compromises: Michelson and the Modern Law of Character Evidence, in Evidence Stories, (edited by Richard Lempert, Foundation) (2007). |
Courses:
| Spring 2025 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-802 |
| Fall 2024 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-802 |
| Fall 2024 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-801 |
| Spring 2024 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-802 |
| Fall 2023 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-802 |
| Fall 2023 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-801 |
| Spring 2023 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-802 |
| Fall 2022 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-802 |
| Fall 2022 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-801 |
| Spring 2022 | Complex Civil Litigation | LAWS 7303-801 |
| Fall 2021 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-802 |
| Fall 2021 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-801 |
| Spring 2021 | Complex Civil Litigation | LAWS 7303-801 |
| Fall 2020 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-802 |
| Fall 2020 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-801 |
| Spring 2020 | Complex Civil Litigation | LAWS 7303-801 |
| Fall 2019 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-802 |
| Fall 2019 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-801 |
| Fall 2018 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-803 |
| Fall 2018 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-801 |
| Spring 2018 | Complex Civil Litigation | LAWS 7303-001 |
| Fall 2017 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-804 |
| Fall 2017 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-001 |
| Spring 2017 | Complex Civil Litigation | LAWS 7303-001 |
| Fall 2016 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-804 |
| Fall 2016 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-001 |
| Spring 2016 | Complex Civil Litigation | LAWS 7303-001 |
| Fall 2015 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-802 |
| Fall 2015 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-806 |
| Fall 2015 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-001 |
| Spring 2015 | Complex Civil Litigation | LAWS 7303-001 |
| Fall 2014 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-801 |
| Fall 2014 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-001 |
| Spring 2014 | Complex Civil Litigation | LAWS 7303-001 |
| Fall 2013 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-801 |
| Fall 2013 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-001 |
| Fall 2012 | Civil Procedure | LAWS 5303-802 |
| Fall 2012 | Evidence | LAWS 6353-001 |
Our Vision
With our roots in Colorado and a global outlook, we are ...
a supportive and diverse educational and scholarly community in a place that inspires vigorous pursuit of ideas, critical analysis, contemplation, and civic engagement to advance knowledge about the law in an open, just society.
Our Mission
To be an outstanding public law school that: provides students with a state-of-the-art legal education and prepares them to serve wisely and with professionalism; advances the development of knowledge through scholarship, testing of new ideas, and challenges to the status quo; and serves as a vehicle and catalyst for meaningful public service, all of which deliver high value to our students and have positive impacts?both locally and globally?on the legal profession and society.