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A. Evidentiary Matter
At trial, respondent proffered her counsel's testimony to
offer admissions against interest made by or on behalf of
petitioner. See Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2). Petitioner seeks to
exclude all of respondent's counsel's testimony on the ground
that it consisted of statements made in the course of settlement
negotiations.
Proceedings in this Court are conducted in accordance with
the Federal Rules of Evidence. Sec. 7453; Rule 143. Rule 408 of
the Federal Rules of Evidence provides as follows:
Rule 408. Compromise and Offers to Compromise
Evidence of (1) furnishing or offering or
promising to furnish, or (2) accepting or offering or
promising to accept, a valuable consideration in
compromising or attempting to compromise a claim which
was disputed as to either validity or amount, is not
admissible to prove liability for or invalidity of the
claim or its amount. Evidence of conduct or statements
made in compromise negotiations is likewise not
admissible. This rule does not require the exclusion
of any evidence otherwise discoverable merely because
it is presented in the course of compromise
negotiations. This rule also does not require
exclusion when the evidence is offered for another
purpose, such as proving bias or prejudice of a
witness, negativing a contention of undue delay, or
proving an effort to obstruct a criminal investigation
or prosecution.
This proscription is limited to evidence of settlement
negotiations and documents concerning the compromise of a claim.
In addition, the limitation on using such evidence applies only
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