Under Rule 61 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, an error in admitting or excluding evidence, or any other error by the court or a party, must be disregarded when it does not affect “any party’s substantial rights.” Rule 52(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure similarly provides that “[a]ny error, defect, irregularity, or variance that does not affect substantial rights must be disregarded.”1
Should an appellate court conducting harmless error analysis consider only the weight of the residual evidence absent the error, or should it also consider the potential effect of the error on the jury? The U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument on this issue on March 21, 2012, in Vasquez v. United States (No. 11-199).
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