Invited by the ‘2011 Plan - China Collaborative Innovation Center of Judicial Civilization’, the ‘111 Plan - Base for Evidence Science Innovation and Talent Recruitment’ and ‘Key Laboratory of Evidence Science，CUPL，Ministry of Education, China’, Ronald J. Allen, a John Henry Wigmore Professor at U.S. Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, delivered a curriculum on the topic of Introduction to the American Legal System and the Law of Evidence for our students. The course is held as a live online broadcast.

Professor Ronald J. Allen delivered twelve lectures on the theme of the course. Lectures 1 to 3 were taught on topics at the forefront of evidence science. Lectures four to six start from the institutional differences between China and the United States, comparing the social background differences of the rules of evidence in the two countries, and clarifying the research object of evidence law. The seventh to ninth lectures are centred on the core concept of relevance, from the general rules to the power of proof, the foundation of proof and character evidence. Lectures ten and eleven focus on the hearsay rule and its exceptions, while the final lecture reflects on the theory of burden of proof. The course helps students understand the theoretical framework of the law of evidence while also incorporating cutting-edge theoretical issues, using comparative thinking to illuminate rational thinking about the law of evidence in an illuminating manner.

Professor Allen adopts the question-and-answer mode of American law schools in his teaching, and each class consists of three parts: 1 hour lecture, 30 minutes group discussion and 30 minutes Q&A interaction, which puts high demands on students' preparation and participation in the class. The language was a great challenge, but at the same time it was a great sense of freshness and achievement. Professor Allen's answers to questions were patient, detailed, comprehensive and inspiring, and led to continuous discussion after each lecture.