FRE 702
Definition
Federal Rule of Evidence 702, the US statutory basis for expert testimony admissibility. Amended in 2000 and again in 2023 to reflect Daubert and Kumho requirements, it requires that the opinion be based on sufficient facts, reliable methods, and reliable application of those methods to the case facts.
- Applies to
- Scientific, technical, and specialized knowledge testimony in US federal courts
- Governs
- Whether an expert's opinion is admissible based on the sufficiency and reliability of the facts, methods, and application
Common questions
What does FRE 702 require for expert testimony to be admissible?+
Expert testimony must be based on sufficient facts, reliable methods, and the reliable application of those methods to the case. The opinion has to rest on a solid factual foundation, use sound principles, and correctly apply those principles to what actually happened in your case.
How does Daubert relate to FRE 702?+
The Daubert framework determines what counts as reliable under FRE 702. Courts use Daubert criteria to evaluate whether the methods and principles an expert relies on are scientifically valid and properly applied to the case facts.
When was FRE 702 last updated?+
FRE 702 was amended in 2023 to reflect current standards for expert testimony. Prior amendments in 2000 incorporated requirements from the Daubert and Kumho cases, which shaped the reliability framework courts use when evaluating expert opinions.
Related terms
- Daubert Standard
- The US federal evidentiary standard (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 1993) requiring that expert testimony be based on scientifically valid methods with...
- Frye Standard
- The US legal test for admissibility of scientific evidence, originating from Frye v. United States (1923), which required that a technique be...
- Gatekeeping
- The judicial function, codified in the United States by Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993) and Federal Rule of Evidence 702, of...
- Admissibility
- Whether a piece of evidence is permitted to be placed before the fact-finder at all. Admissibility is a threshold question, decided by...
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam
- India's Evidence Act 2023, which replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872. Section 39 (replacing former s.45) governs the relevance of expert opinion...
- CPR Part 35 (England and Wales)
- The Civil Procedure Rules Part 35 that governs expert witnesses in civil proceedings in England and Wales. The equivalent for criminal proceedings...
- Factual Section
- The portion of a forensic report that records observed data without interpretation: dimensions, photographs, context descriptions, sample inventory, analytical raw results. This...
- Interpretive Section
- The portion of the report where the expert explains what the facts mean: the mechanism that created the observed pattern, what the...
- Kumho Tire Extension
- The 1999 US Supreme Court decision that applied the Daubert gatekeeping obligation to all expert testimony, not only scientific testimony. After Kumho,...
- Makita Standard
- The Australian admissibility standard from Makita (Australia) v. Sprowles (2001): the expert must identify the facts and assumptions underlying the opinion, the...
- Site Archive
- The complete record of a forensic excavation: field notebooks, context sheets, photographic record, sample register, finds catalogue, and digital survey data. In...
- Terminus Post Quem / Ante Quem
- Latin terms for the earliest possible date (TPQ) and latest possible date (TAQ) of an event, derived from contextual or artefactual evidence....
Explained in these topics
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- Admissibility of Engineering Opinions: Daubert and BeyondFederal Rule of Evidence 702, the US statutory basis for expert testimony admissibility. Amended in 2000 and again in 2023 to reflect Daubert and Kumho require...
- Report Writing and Evidential StandardsFederal Rule of Evidence 702, the US federal standard for expert testimony. Requires that the witness's scientific, technical, or specialised knowledge is base...