Voir Dire (On Evidence)
Definition
A preliminary hearing, conducted in the absence of the jury, at which the judge evaluates the admissibility of proposed expert evidence. The term is also used for jury selection but in this context means the mini-trial on the expert's qualifications and methodology.
- Setting
- Hearing conducted without the jury present
- Decided by
- The judge alone
- Subject
- Admissibility of proposed expert evidence
- Related but distinct sense
- The same term also names jury selection questioning
Common questions
Why is the jury excluded for this kind of voir dire?+
If the evidence is ultimately ruled inadmissible, a jury that had already heard it could not simply unhear it. Excluding the jury lets the judge test the expert's methodology and qualifications without risking that prejudicial or unreliable material reaches the jury before the admissibility question is settled.
What typically happens if the expert evidence fails voir dire?+
The evidence, and often the expert's opinion built on it, is excluded from the trial that follows, though the judge's ruling and reasoning usually remain on the record and can be revisited on appeal.
Related terms
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (BSA)
- India's current evidence statute, which replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872. Section 63 of the BSA governs electronic records and requires a...
- Corroboration
- The practice of confirming an observed attacker action by finding evidence of the same action in at least two independent data sources,...
- Gatekeeping
- The judicial function, codified in the United States by Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993) and Federal Rule of Evidence 702, of...
- General Acceptance (Frye Standard)
- The admissibility rule from Frye v. United States (DC Cir. 1923) requiring a technique to be generally accepted in the relevant scientific...
- Opinion Evidence
- Testimony about an inference or conclusion drawn from facts, rather than direct observation. Expert opinion is a recognised exception to the general...