Free Essay

Evidence

In:

Submitted By sheknata
Words 1545
Pages 7
HPNA Position Statement
Evidence-Based Practice

Background
Increased attention is being directed toward the development of methods that can provide valid and reliable information about what works best in healthcare.
The careful scientific evaluation of clinical practice became a prominent focus during the second half of the 20th century.1 More recently, attention has been paid to methods of determining which of multiple proven approaches to a healthcare problem works best for which patients.2 Evidence-based practice encompasses implementing the best-known practices into the clinical setting using a scientific approach. It evolved from evidence-based medicine, which was developed in Canada to teach medical students. “Evidence-based medicine has been defined as the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.”3, p. 3 The
National Quality Forum’s report A National Framework and Preferred Practices for Palliative and Hospice Care Quality is a consensus report that is a first step toward introducing evidence-based measures into palliative practice on a formal, national level.4 The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) supports organizations in their efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare by facilitating the use of evidence-based research findings in clinical practice.5 The nursing discipline has also embraced evidence-based practice over the past
25 years, initially through its support of “research utilization,” the integration of research into nursing curricula, and the education of nurse scientists. Sigma
Theta Tau International, the Honor Society of Nursing, considers evidence-based nursing “as an integration of the best evidence available, nursing expertise and the values and preferences of the individuals, families, and communities who are served.”6 Clinical practice guidelines, evidence reports, and clinical/critical pathways for practicing clinicians are central to evidence-based practice.7
Rosswurm and Larrabee developed a model, derived from theoretical and research literature that guides nurses through a systematic process for the change to evidence-based practice. The steps of the model are as follows:
1. Assess need for change in practice;
2. Link problem with interventions and outcomes;
1

3.
4.
5.
6.

Synthesize best evidence;
Design a change in practice;
Implement and evaluate the practice change;
Integrate and maintain the practice change.8

Evidence-based practice has the potential to improve the quality of care and enhance clinical judgment in serious and life-threatening illness. Hospice and palliative nurses must know how to obtain, interpret, and integrate the best available research evidence with patient data and clinical observations.
Employers of hospice and palliative nurses also have an instrumental role to play in supporting evidence-based practice. Researchers from across healthcare disciplines must actively continue to expand the knowledge base about what constitutes quality of care for persons with life limiting illnesses. Finally, the federal government, through the National Institutes of Health, must continue to fund research of persons facing life-limiting illness.
The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) supports the development and implementation of evidence-based nursing practice in palliative care. Position Statement











Hospice and palliative nurses must actively engage in using evidence
(e.g., clinical practice guidelines, evidence reports, and clinical/critical pathways) to guide the care they provide to persons, and their families, at the end of life.
Hospice and palliative nurses must actively participate in the development of clinical practice guidelines as well as clinical/critical pathways.
Nurse researchers, in collaboration with researchers from other disciplines, must actively engage in research to identify the elements, standards, and benchmarks of quality care for persons with serious and life-threatening illnesses.
Organizations employing hospice and palliative nurses must assure that their organization has an “organizational capacity for change,”7 including the necessary infrastructure to support evidence-based practice.
The National Institutes of Health, including but not limited to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, should continue to fund research for persons facing serious and life-threatening illness.
Hospice and palliative practitioners must follow the preferred practices outlined in the National Quality Forum’s Framework and the National
Consensus Project’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative
Care.
Healthcare organizations, payors, educators, and providers must advocate for expanded federal funding for research for persons facing serious and life-threatening illness.

2



HPNA will continue to develop evidence-based educational materials that support hospice and palliative nurses to provide optimum care to persons, and their families, at the end of life.

Definition of Terms
Clinical/Critical Pathways: “A clinical (critical) pathway directs the entire healthcare team in the daily care goals for select healthcare problems. It includes a nursing care plan, interventions specific for each day of hospitalization, and a documentation tool. The clinical pathway is part of a case management system that organizes and sequences the caregiving process at the patient level to better achieve quality and cost outcomes… The case types selected for clinical pathways are usually those that occur in high volume and are highly predictable.”9, p. 13
Clinical Practice Guideline: “Systematically developed statement designed to assist practitioner and patient make decisions about appropriate healthcare for specific clinical circumstances.”10
Comparative Effectiveness: A type of healthcare research that compares the results of one approach for managing a disease to the results of other approaches. Comparative effectiveness usually compares two or more types of treatment, such as different drugs, for the same disease. Comparative effectiveness also can compare types of surgery or other kinds of medical procedures and tests. The results often are summarized in a systematic review.11
Evidence-Based Practice: "The conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of the individual patient. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research.”12 Evidence-based practice is a blending of patient values and preferences to determine the best care for the patient.5 Research Utilization: “Broadly speaking, research utilization refers to the use of some aspect of a scientific investigation in an application unrelated to the original research. Current conceptualizations of research utilization recognize a continuum in terms of the specificity or diffuseness of the use to which knowledge is put. At one end of the continuum are discrete, clearly identifiable attempts to base some specific action on the results of research findings…
However, there is a growing awareness that research can be utilized in a more diffuse manner—in a way that promotes cumulative awareness, understanding, or enlightenment…research utilization at all points along this continuum appears to be an appropriate goal for nurses.”13, p. 25-26

3

References
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
6.

7.

8.
9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

Tunis SR, Stryer DB, Clancy CM. Practical clinical trials: increasing the value of clinical research for decision making in clinical and health policy.
JAMA. 2003;290(12):1624-32.
Committee on Comparative Effectiveness Research Prioritization, Institute of Medicine. Initial National Priorities for Comparative Effectiveness
Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2009.
Available at: www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12648. Accessed April
10, 2012.
Lipman AG. Evidenced-based palliative care. In: Lipman AG, Jackson KC,
Tyler LS, eds. Evidenced Based Symptom Control in Palliative Care –
Systematic Reviews and Validated Clinical Practice Guidelines for 15
Common Problems in Patients with Life Limiting Disease. Binghamton,
NY: Haworth Press, Inc.; 2000:1-9.
National Quality Forum. A National Framework and Preferred Practices for
Palliative and Hospice Care Quality. Washington, DC: National Quality
Forum; 2006.
Pape TM. Evidence-based nursing practice: to infinity and beyond. The
Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing. 2003;34(4):154-61.
Sigma Theta Tau International. Evidence-Based Nursing Position
Statement. 2005. Available at: www.nursingsociety.org/aboutus/PositionPapers/Pages/EBN_positionpap er.aspx. Accessed April 10, 2012.
Cronenwett LR. Keynote address: Midwest nursing research society
March 3, 2001: Research, practice and policy: issues in evidence based care. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Accessed February 19, 2002.
Rosswurm MA, Larrabee JH. Model for change to evidence-based practice. Image: Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 1999;31(4):317-22.
O’Brian PG. Critical thinking in the nursing process. In: Lewis SM,
Heitkemper MM, Dirkson SR. eds. Medical-Surgical Nursing. 6th ed. St.
Louis, MO: Mosby; 2004:13.
Institute of Medicine, Field MJ, Lohr KN. eds. Clinical Practice Guidelines:
Directions for a New Program. Washington, DC: National Academy Press;
1990:38.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Effective Health Care
Program: Glossary of Terms. Rockville, MD: AHRQ. Available at: www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm/glossary-of-terms. Accessed
March 23, 2012.
Sackett DL, Rosenberg WM, Gray JA, Haynes RB, Richardson WS.
Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn't. BMJ.
1996;312(7023):71-72.
Polit DF, Hungler BP. Nursing Research Principles and Methods. 5th ed.,
Philadelphia, PA: J.B. Lippincott; 1995:25-26.

4

Approved by the HPNA Board of Directors
July 2012
This position statement reflects the bioethics standards or best available clinical evidence at the time of writing or revisions.
Copyright © 2004, 2008, 2012 by Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
To obtain copies of HPNA Position statements, contact the National Office at
One Penn Center West, Suite 425, Pittsburgh, PA 15276-0100
Phone (412) 787-9301
Fax (412) 787-9305
Website www.HPNA.org

HPNA Mission Statement:
To advance expert care in serious illness.

5

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Evidence

...QUESTION- 1) Bincangkan bagaimanakah pengecaman (identification) seseorang suspek boleh dibuat menurut Seksyen 9 (Akta Keterangan 1950). 2) Nyatakan juga permasalahan dan cabaran-cabaran (jika ada) yang terdapat dalam teknik pengecaman tersebut dengan merujuk kepada autoriti yang relevan. Identification of Person a)Identification by fingerprint Fingerprint Identification is the method of identification using the impressions made by the minute ridge formations or patterns found on the fingertips. No two persons have exactly the same arrangement of ridge patterns, and the patterns of any one individual remain unchanged throughout life. Fingerprints offer an infallible means of personal identification. Other personal characteristics may change, but fingerprints do not. By comparing fingerprints at the scene of a crime with the fingerprint record of suspected persons, officials can establish absolute proof of the presence or identity of a person. Fingerprint is a biometric modality that is often used in a security setting. Fingerprint databases are in use worldwide for the purposes of personal identification, border control as well as to facilitate criminal forensic investigation. Many countries have multiple fingerprint databases, with each database serving a specific purpose. In Malaysia, there are at least 4 different fingerprint databases; namely PDRM-MAFIS (Polis Di Raja Malaysia- Malaysian Automated Fingerprint Identification System), PDRM-BIOFIS (Polis...

Words: 9471 - Pages: 38

Premium Essay

Evidence Tracking

...Evidence Tracking Properly handling evidence is critical to crime solving, improper deviations to the handling can make it impossible to prosecute using the evidence collected. This paper will outline will track the evidence from a chosen crime scene through all the proper handling processes. This paper will describe the chosen crime scene scenario, describe the collected evidence and proper collection, recording of the evidence, chain of evidence, processing, interpretation methods, preservation of the evidence, proper presentation methods for different types of evidence, and the consequences of mishandling the evidence collected. The Crime and Processing Protocols The chosen crime scene scenario is a sexual assault; the first responding officer will have been notified of a possible rape and traveled to an apartment complex at 306 Timber Road, Apartment 12-B to investigate. Upon arrival, the first crime scene procedure is to make sure the crime scene is safe and the possible offender has been arrested or is no longer on the scene. If the struggle were still occurring, this would be the point to render aid. The next procedure would be to determine the extent of the crime and to secure the scene from intrusion to preserve any evidence. It is important for the responding officer to keep their superiors informed of their activities. At this point the responding officer will touch nothing and document all of their observations and actions, if the scene had been disturbed in any...

Words: 1515 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Evidence

...(1) INTRODUCTION There are matters which do not require proof or are not allowed to be proved viz. (i) matters presumed, (ii) matters judicially noticed, and (iii) formal admissions. (2) PRESUMPTIONS (A) In general Presumptions are inferences or positions established by law. They are conclusions which may or must be drawn until the contrary is proved. Several reasons have been proffered. Notable amongst these reasons are that the use of presumption accords with the preponderance of probabilities, saves time at the trial, solves a problem where ordinary rules result in an impasse as in the commorientes rule (discussed later), and operates to promote convenience. For example, absence unheard of which leads to a presumption of death enables the affairs of property to be wound up within a reasonable time. Presumptions are categorised as (i) particular presumptions, (ii) irrebuttable presumptions, and (iii) rebuttable presumptions. (B) Particular Presumptions (a) Presumption of regularity . This is expressed by the Latin maxim: Omnia praesumuntur rite esse acta [All acts are presumed to have been done rightly]. The presumption of regularity applies to acts of an official or judicial character. For example, in Berryman v Wise , it was held that an attorney need not prove by his certificate or by a roll of attorneys that he was an attorney. Proof that he acted as such was held sufficient. Again, in R v Roberts it was held that the presumption applied to a deputy judge...

Words: 3324 - Pages: 14

Free Essay

Evidence Outline

...EVIDENCE OUTLINE Prof. Mark Bonner Fall 2012 |1 • INTRODUCTION | I. Trial Context A. types of evidence at trial 1. witnesses 2. real evidence – something tangible related to the case 3. demonstrative evidence – not part of the story, but lawyer wishes to show the jury something to demonstrate something about the case (e.g., experiment; picture of intersection) B. competing stories at trial – two ways stories can compete 1. factual differences 2. differences in inferences drawn from the same facts II. Policy Overview [values that the evidence rules protect] A. accuracy 1. rationality – does evidence have a rational relationship to the case? 2. reliability – is the evidence credible? B. efficiency – see FRE 403 C. fairness – rules should be party-neutral 1. but note: some rules exclude evidence to one party’s advantage (e.g., evidence that Δ fixed the steps after the accident excluded, b/c we want to encourage Δs to make steps safer) (e.g., Confrontation Clause, guarantees rt of accused in a criminal trial to confront witnesses brought against him) D. danger of misuse of information 1. one solution: limiting instructions 2. but sometimes we’re so skeptical of jury’s willingness/ability...

Words: 30878 - Pages: 124

Free Essay

Forensic Evidence

...application of science to the law. In recent years the use of forensic science has become increasingly necessary to help with criminal and civil investigations. Although forensic evidence is admissible in court one must keep in mind how that evidence made its way to the court system. I will take you through the process. For there to be admissible evidence for a court case there must be physical evidence which would have been collected at a crime scene therefore there must have been some kind of crime committed. A crime with physical evidence doesn’t necessarily mean something violent but it can be. Theft, arson, car accident and murder are just a few examples of what a crime can be. The process begins when the crime has been committed, to the officers arriving on the scene, to surveying the scene, collecting the evidence, submitting it to the lab, submitting it as evidence and finally the acceptance of the evidence. When a call is sent out regarding a possible crime and the first officer arrives on scene it is that officer’s obligation to do a few things as precise as possible: 1. seek medical attention for those who may need it, 2. arrest or detain any perpetrators, and 3. secure the crime scene. Securing the crime scene is extremely important because you want to be able to retrieve as much evidence as possible. By securing the crime scene you are blocking off the area from unauthorized personnel. You want to keep the foot traffic to a minimum to prevent tampering and...

Words: 1263 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Inadmissible Evidence

...Courts are set up to provide every individual a fair trial. Consequently, they have rules to only allow admissible evidence into the courtroom. This means that trial court judges decide what evidence is fair to admit into a case. In published research, such as “Can the Jury Disregard That Information? The Use of Suspicion to Reduce the Prejudicial Effects of Pretrial Publicity and Inadmissible Testimony” by Fein and Tomlinson, “When Instructions to Forget Become Instructions to Remember” by Golding and Jerry, and “Inadmissible Testimony, Instructions to Disregard, and the Jury: Substantive Versus Procedural Considerations” by Kassin and Sommers, the experiments performed all support that inadmissible evidence can bias and impact jurors’ verdicts....

Words: 818 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Evidence In Oedipus The King

...Imagine: you’re a part of the jury in a court-case involving the accusation of a man murdering his own father. What is the first thing one would look at to prove the case guilty or not guilty? Starting at the very basics, evidence is by far the most important attribute of a case. Evidence of motives, intentions, actions, confessions and other vocalizations hold the most effective and win-worthy arguments. These components are like a concoction, with the right amount of each, it creates the perfect argument for a case. They all provide different characteristics and can be interpreted diversely. For this reason, when studying the murder in the story of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, all of those qualities were taken into consideration. In the play,...

Words: 803 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Laws of Evidence

...Laws of Evidence Assignment 5 Using just the Federal Rules of Evidence and your knowledge of the hearsay rule and its exceptions, please discuss briefly whether each of the following nine out of court “statements” may be allowed into evidence or whether they are barred by the hearsay rule: 1) The five (5) statements that appear in “Practice Application 12.1" in your textbook, which appears at the end of Chapter 12 (page 323) of your textbook 2) The four (4) statements that appear in “Practice Application 13.1" in your textbook, which appears at the end of Chapter 13 (page 362-363) of your textbook You do not need to cite outside cases for this assignment. I am just looking for a short explanation for each one as to whether it is admissible under the hearsay rule. You may and should ignore all other evidentiary issues other than the hearsay rule! Practice Application 12.1 The Defendant is charged with falsely spreading a bomb scare at his school. At trail, 1. Prosecution offers witness, Marge, who testifies that she was standing in the school hallway when she heard a student walking by say that a bomb had been planted and it would go off at noon. This testimony by Marge would be admissible under the Fed. R. Evid rule 803(3). Which says that “[a] statement of the declarant’s then-existing state of mind (such as motive, intent, or plan) or emotional, sensory, or physical condition (such as mental feeling, pain, or bodily health), but not including a statement...

Words: 1379 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Physical Evidence Credibility

...Evidence can make or break a case in court, physical evidence is the most reliable form of evidence and can make it much easier to find the truth. Although in some cases there are limited forms of physical evidence and witnesses need to be call to the stand in order to set a story straight. Credibility of a witness comes in to play in every court case being decided by a judge or adjudicator in which a witness is called to the stand to testify. That could be an eye witness to a crime or an expert witness giving a statement and even the accused testifying on their own behalf. Credibility is legally defined as, “Worthiness of belief; that quality in a witness which renders his evidence worthy of belief. After the competence of a witness is allowed, the consideration of his credibility arises, and not before.” There are many things that are taken into account when the court including, demeanour in court, consistency of story and if the witness is an expert, qualifications. This paper will examine how the court decides if a witness is credible or not and the...

Words: 1818 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Physical Evidence

...PHYSICAL EVIDENCE Name Institution Physical Evidence In the field of crime and justice, the success of an investigation depends on the assemblage and analysis of the different types of evidence (Swanson Et Al., 2012). Forensic experts usually classify evidence ass either physical or biological evidence. Biological evidence refers to any type of evidence that they draw from a living being while Physical evidence refers to any type of evidence that they draw from a non-living organism. Examples of physical evidence are fibers, fingerprints, footprints, building materials and paints among others. On the other hand, DNA and bloodstains are some of the examples of biological evidence (Swanson Et Al., 2012). To me, the most interesting type of physical evidence is fingerprints. Fingerprints are one of the few things that one is sure not denying that it belongs to him or her. By default, everybody has his or her own unique fingerprint (Swanson Et Al., 2012). Therefore, in the case of crime, collection and analysis of evidence becomes easier for the forensic experts in case they get the fingerprints of the suspect. Unlike the other types of Physical Evidence where the suspect can easily deny to having any association with, fingerprints are unique to him or her thus no chance of denying. In fact, if the forensic experts can be able to get the fingerprints at the scene of a crime as evidence then compare it with the fingerprints of the suspect, then the case is as good as done...

Words: 303 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Chain of Evidence

...Name Instructor Course Date The Chain of Evidence The chain of evidence refers the paper trail showing the seizure, custody, control, transfer, analysis and disposition of physical or electronic evidence. Any evidence obtained in the course of an investigation is subject to interrogation in a court of law. Subject to this demand, it is important that evidence is kept free from contamination, and achieved through as routine called the chain of custody. A motion of suppression is made by the defendant and is done whenever there is a break in the chain of evidence to exclude the admission of said evidence at the trial. The chain of custody, therefore, ensures the integrity of all material proof of a crime through handling it in a secure and validated manner so that it arrives at court untainted. William is a banker at a downtown bank accused of murder in the first degree. William took part in a protracted argument with Miles, a mechanic, at a local restaurant that ended with Miles assaulting him. William is suspected to have driven over to Miles house later that evening, cornering him in the kitchen, and shot him twice in the chest with a revolver.The much larger Miles was able to wrest the gun out of William’s hands. A short struggle ensued, which resulted in William stabbing Miles in the neck with a kitchen knife. Alarmed neighbors called the police at the sound of the shots being fired, and the first patrol car arrived on the scene three minutes later and found Miles dead...

Words: 698 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Bite Marks as Evidence

...An innocent prisoner named Ray Koone walked out of prison in Yuma, Arizona on April 8, 2004 after serving 10 years for the murder of a cocktail waitress. The evidence that convicted him was a set of bite mark that matched his teeth with the bite marks on one of her breasts. Throughout this entire time, he always maintained his innocence. It turned out 10 years after his conviction he was exonerated due to DNA evidence on the victim’s clothes turned out to match that of another man. When it comes to bite marks unless the victim is found immediately after the bite happens and victims are not found immediately after they have been bitten, bruising and abrasions will start to appear and continue to change the skin the longer it takes before the victim is found. If very many hours go by it is even hard to tell if the marks are even bite marks. One time bruises thought to be bite marks were actually bruises made by a hair band. Bite marks are subjective and unless the victim is immediately found right after they were bitten it is impossible to even come close to identification of the suspect. The only positive way to match up the victim with the suspect is if DNA evidence can be gathered along with the imprint of the bite that matches both suspect and victim (Randerson, 2004). Also bite marks can be made while a body can be in many different body positions and skin has elasticity to it and stretches which can cause distortion of the bite marks. The identification of mistaken...

Words: 395 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Parole Evidence

...How justified is the fact that Parole Evidence Rule has outlived its importance in the modern day life? The parol evidence rule has long been a controversial element of the common law system. It has been frequently attacked for the injustices that result from its application and sometimes even for a lack of rationality in its justification. This exposition results from the conviction that useful light can be shed on the problems surrounding the parol evidence rule by an examination of its status in other common law jurisdictions, where it has also been the subject of constant dispute throughout the previous half century. The written document produced by the parties is merely a memorandum of the agreement that they have reached. Consequently, when a court attempts to resolve a dispute regarding the agreement, the written document is construed as persuasive evidence of what was agreed, and can be contradicted by other evidence tending to show that the actual agreement was something different. By contrast, the objective theory of contracting holds that the written document is in fact the agreement itself, so that in attempting to discern the nature of the bargain between the parties it is improper to admit evidence that contradicts the written document. Since the actual intentions of the parties are not being considered by the court, evidence that would tend to demonstrate that their intentions were something other than the written document reflects is simply irrelevant. ...

Words: 1873 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Presumption Under Law of Evidence

...taken for It is, however, rarely employed in jurisprudence in this extended sense. Like “presumption it has there obtained a restricted legal signification, and is used to of an inference, affirmative or dis-affirmative, of the existence of some fact, drawn by a judicial tribunal, by a process of probable reasoning, from some matter of fact, either judicially noticed or admitted or established by legal evidence to the satisfaction of the tribunal. Presumptions are drawn from the course of nature for instance, that night will follow day, the seasons follow each other, death ensues from a mortal wound, and the like; or from the course of human affairs from a familiarly with the ordinary springs of human action, from the usages of society, domestic relationship and transactions in business [Norton, p 97; see post, s 114].J Shortly speaking, a presume is an inference of fact drawn from other known or proved facts. It is a rule of under which courts are authorized to draw a particular inference from a particular fact unless and until the truth of such inference is disproved by other evidence. Divisions of Presumption: Presumption according to English test-written are: (a) Presumptions of fact or natural presumption: (b) Presumptions of law (rebuttable and irrebuttable); and (c) Mixed presumptions. Conclusive presumption : Presumption of fact or natural presumptions are inferences which are natural drawn from the experience and observation of the course of nature...

Words: 6963 - Pages: 28

Free Essay

Tendency and Coincidence Evidence

...TENDENCY AND COINCIDENCE EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL CASES (Parts of this paper are a repetition of a paper I prepared for the Legal Aid conference last year and which was published in Bar News Criminal Law Special Edition.) Ian Barker QC 1. I have practised law from a time beyond which the memory of man runneth not. At least, that is how it feels. During those years I managed, I think, to develop a slippery hold on fundamentals of the law of evidence, from the myriad cases on the subject. I was recently heartened to read something written by Sir James Stephen in about 1886 in the Introduction to his Digest of the Law of Evidence1. Speaking of the difficulty in finding concise guidance to the law of evidence he said: No such work, so far as I know, exists; for all the existing books on the Law of Evidence are written on the usual model of English law-books, which, as a general rule, aim at being collections more or less complete of all the authorities upon a given subject to which a judge would listen in an argument in court. Such works often become, under the hands of successive editors, the repositories of an extraordinary amount of research, but they seem to me to have the effect of making the attainment by direct study of a real knowledge of the law, or of any branch of it as a whole, almost impossible. The enormous mass of detail and illustration which they contain, and the habit into which their writers naturally fall, of introducing into them everything which has any...

Words: 10456 - Pages: 42