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De minimis communications and the Brady rule

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In a 2 page double-spaced paper, describe the following concepts: de minimis communications, the discovery process, the Brady rule, a motion in limine or the witness sequestration rule. The paper should include, using your own words, and APA formatting, definitions of the terms, a brief history of the concept, then evaluate their importance in the American legal system.

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De minimis communications and the Brady rules are provided.

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Some American Legal Terms

De Minimis Communications:
By itself, the phrase de minimis deals with the inconsequential. It is most commonly used in the phrase de minimis not curat lex, which merely means that the law does not deal with problems of minor importance. Adding communications to the mix can mean one of two things: either, in the case of a criminal trial, communications among parties might be seen to have no import, or at least, of themselves, violate the law in the most trivial way. It might, as per the IRS deal with the concept that communications or broadcasts from which the creator receives little income is also de minimis.
De minimus derives from the high middle ages and was common in English common law. Quite often, it dealt with issues that wasted the court's time as well as offenses that were not worth the court's time. This can also be treated as a method for filtering cases that might really be a matter of settling scores. In American law, de minimis is not the same as a technicality, though it should be.
In Sandoval v. New Line Cinema (2d Cir. 1998), dealing with the movie Seven, photographic transparencies created by Sandoval were very briefly flashed in one scene. The flash was so brief that the court ruled that there was no copyright infringement because the appearance of the object was so trivial and fleeting. On the other hand, Ringgold v. Black Entertainment Television (2d Cir. 1997), another show business case, Ringgold owned a quilt with a very specific design and story built into it. It was shown in a sitcom on BET no fewer than 9 times. This was not a case where de minimis could be used. Therefore, in these sorts of cases, the amount of time and the prominence of the copyrighted image is essential.

Discovery procedure is much better known. This is a method whereby the trial, materially speaking, is rendered fair and impartial. Both parties have a right to inspect all relevant materials the other has in its possession. In US law, discovery is automatic, and if there is information that was not ...

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