Witness of fact
Definition
A witness who testifies only to facts within their own personal knowledge: what they saw, heard, measured, or did. Unlike an expert, a witness of fact may not give opinions or draw inferences requiring specialist knowledge.
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...
- Daubert standard
- The US federal evidentiary standard (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 1993) requiring that expert testimony be based on scientifically valid methods with...
- Expert witness
- A person whose specialised knowledge is accepted by a court and who gives opinion evidence, not just factual evidence. Forensic auditors frequently...
- Frye standard
- The US legal test for admissibility of scientific evidence, originating from Frye v. United States (1923), which required that a technique be...
- Voir dire
- A preliminary hearing at which a court tests whether a proposed witness or item of evidence meets the legal admissibility threshold. In...
Explained in
- Who Is an Expert Witness in LawA witness who testifies only to facts within their own personal knowledge: what they saw, heard, measured, or did. Unlike an expert, a witness of fact may not...