TITLE FOUR — RELEVANCY AND ITS LIMITS
Rule 402. General Admissibility of Relevant Evidence
Other Sources of Exclusion. Relevant evidence is also excluded by:
the Ridgeway Rules of Civil Procedure, the Ridgeway Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the Ridgeway Rules of the Supreme Court;
an order of the court entered under those rules, including a protective order, an order in limine, and an order excluding evidence as a sanction under Rule 103(7), Rid. R. Civ. P. 26.3, or Rid. R. Crim. P. 14(c); and
the common law of Ridgeway, of which the court takes judicial notice under Rule 202(1)(a).
Burdens. The proponent of an item of evidence bears the burden of establishing its relevance and every foundation its admission requires. A party opposing admission bears the burden of identifying the specific provision that excludes it, and shall state that ground as Rule 103(1)(a) requires unless it is apparent from the context.
Constitutional Limits on Exclusion. No rule of exclusion shall be applied so as to deprive a defendant in a criminal case of the right to be heard, to be confronted with the witnesses, or to call for evidence in the defendant’s favor, which Const. art. I, § 6 secures. Where a rule of these Rules would, as applied, deny a criminal defendant a fair opportunity to present a defense, the court shall admit the evidence subject to such limiting instruction, restriction of scope, or condition as will protect the competing interest, and shall state its reasons on the record. This subdivision does not authorize the admission of privileged matter except as Rule 501(2) permits.
Partial Admissibility. Where part of a writing, recording, statement, or other item is admissible and part is not, the court may admit the admissible part and exclude the remainder. The proponent shall offer the item in a form that omits the excluded part. An adverse party’s right to introduce a further part of the same writing or statement is governed by Rule 106(1).
Admission for a Limited Purpose. Evidence that is admissible against one party or for one purpose, and not against another party or for another purpose, is admitted subject to Rule 105, and the court shall on timely request restrict the evidence to its proper scope and instruct accordingly.
Evidence Admitted Without Objection. Evidence admitted without objection is in the case for every purpose for which it is competent, subject to Rule 103 and to the court’s authority to strike evidence on its own motion where its admission would work a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice.
Waiver by the Court. The court’s authority under Rule 101(3) to waive the application of these Rules shall not be exercised to admit evidence whose exclusion is required by the Constitution of the State of Ridgeway or by a statute, nor to receive privileged matter over the objection of the holder of the privilege. A waiver under Rule 101(3) shall be announced on the record in the proceeding communications before the evidence is received, and shall identify the rule waived.