Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 702
Definition
The US federal rule governing expert testimony, requiring that the opinion be based on sufficient facts, reliable principles, and a reliable application of those principles to the case facts; the basis for Daubert gatekeeping.
- Jurisdiction
- United States federal courts
- Governs
- Expert witness testimony
- Basis for
- Daubert gatekeeping standard
Common questions
What must an expert opinion satisfy under Rule 702 beyond simply being from a qualified person?+
The opinion must rest on sufficient facts or data, be produced by reliable principles and methods, and reflect a reliable application of those principles to the case, so qualification alone does not guarantee admissibility if the underlying methodology or its application is unreliable.
How did a 2023 amendment change how judges apply Rule 702 in practice?+
The amendment clarified that the proponent of expert testimony bears the burden of proving admissibility requirements are met by a preponderance of the evidence, and that judges, not juries, must find the expert's methodology reliable before the testimony is admitted, tightening gatekeeping that some courts had applied loosely.
Related terms
- BSA 2023 Section 39
- The expert-evidence provision of India's Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, successor to Indian Evidence Act Section 45. Governs the admissibility of expert opinion...
- Contemporaneous Documentation
- The requirement to record assessment observations, raw data, collateral information reviewed, and the reasoning for forensic opinions at the time they are...
- Court-Appointed Expert
- A neutral forensic expert appointed by the court independently of the parties; the default model in French and German civil law systems...
- CPR Part 35
- The Civil Procedure Rules section governing expert evidence in England and Wales. It establishes the expert's overriding duty to the court, the...
- Dual-Role Conflict
- The professional conflict arising when a forensic psychologist simultaneously holds a therapeutic and an evaluative relationship with the same individual; addressed under...
- Expert Witness Duty to Court
- The overriding obligation of an expert witness in common law proceedings to assist the court impartially, superseding any duty to the retaining...
- Insanity Defense Reform Act 1984
- US federal legislation passed after the Hinckley acquittal that restricted expert psychiatric and psychological testimony in insanity proceedings by prohibiting direct ultimate-issue...
- Party-Retained Expert
- A forensic psychologist instructed by one party to litigation to provide an expert opinion; subject to the overriding duty to the court...
- R V. Mohan 1994
- Canadian Supreme Court decision establishing a four-factor admissibility test for expert evidence: relevance, necessity, absence of an exclusionary rule, and a properly...
- Ultimate-Issue Rule
- The traditional prohibition on an expert stating an opinion on the very factual question the court must decide, on the ground that...