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Rules of Evidence

TITLE SEVEN — OPINION AND EXPERT EVIDENCE

  • 701Opinion Testimony by Lay Witnesses
  • 702Testimony by Expert Witnesses
  • 703Bases of Opinion Testimony by Experts
  • 704Opinion on Ultimate Issue
  • 705Disclosure of Facts or Data Underlying Expert Opinion
  • 706Court-Appointed Experts

TITLE SEVEN — OPINION AND EXPERT EVIDENCE

Rule 705. Disclosure of Facts or Data Underlying Expert Opinion

Cite asRid. R. Evid. 705Official text at page 46

In this rule

  • 1.Disclosure
  • 2.Order Requiring Prior Disclosure
  • 3.Cross-Examination
  • 4.Production of Materials Relied Upon
  • 5.Reports
  • 6.Filing of Expert Materials
  • 7.Limiting Instruction
1.§

Disclosure. Unless the court orders otherwise, an expert may state an opinion, and give the reasons for it, without first testifying to the underlying facts or data. But the expert may be required to disclose those facts or data on cross-examination.

2.§

Order Requiring Prior Disclosure. The court may, upon motion or upon its own initiative, order that an expert state the underlying facts or data before stating the opinion, where doing so will assist the trier of fact, will permit a timely objection under Rule 703, or will avoid the need to strike an opinion whose foundation fails.

3.§

Cross-Examination. An adverse party may cross-examine an expert upon:

1.§

the facts or data relied upon, and any material fact or datum not considered;

2.§

the principles and methods employed and their application to the facts of the case;

3.§

the expert’s qualifications, experience, and the limits of the expert’s field;

4.§

the expert’s compensation, the party or counsel by whom the expert was retained, the terms of the retention, and the expert’s history of testimony for that party, that counsel, or that class of litigant;

5.§

any bias, interest, or motive of the expert; and

6.§

any prior inconsistent statement of the expert, subject to Rule 613.

4.§

Production of Materials Relied Upon. Upon request made at the time the expert testifies, an adverse party is entitled to the production of a writing, record, or object that the expert used to refresh memory while testifying, as Rule 612(1)(b) provides. Production of a writing, record, or object used before testifying is governed by Rule 612(2). Production of materials otherwise discoverable is governed by Rid. R. Civ. P. 19 and Rid. R. Crim. P. 14, and not by this rule.

5.§

Reports.

1.§

Status of a Report. A report prepared by an expert is not admissible as substantive evidence merely because the expert testifies. A report is admissible only where it is independently admissible under Title Eight or another provision of these rules.

2.§

Use of a Report. A report may be used to refresh the expert’s memory under Rule 612, to impeach the expert under Rule 613, and, where it satisfies Rule 803(2), as a past recollection recorded.

3.§

Disclosure to an Adverse Party. Disclosure of a report to an adverse party is governed by Rid. R. Civ. P. 19 in a civil action and by Rid. R. Crim. P. 14 in a criminal case.

6.§

Filing of Expert Materials.

1.§

How Filed. An expert report, curriculum, dataset, exhibit, or demonstrative that a party files shall be filed through the electronic filing system as provided by Rid. R. Civ. P. 5 and Rid. R. Crim. P. 32. No document may exceed fifty (50) megabytes. A filing may comprise any number of documents, and material exceeding that limit shall be tendered as separate documents within a single filing.

2.§

Immutability. A document, once received by the electronic filing system, cannot be amended, replaced, or withdrawn. Where a filed expert material is incorrect or incomplete, the remedy is a corrected refiling under Rid. R. Civ. P. 5.3, which bears its own later filing date. The court shall determine the effect of the later date upon any deadline fixed by these rules or by order.

3.§

Sensitive Material. The electronic filing system provides no document-level sealing and no redaction. A party who files expert material shall not include within it matter that the party is not entitled to place upon the record. Protection of sensitive matter is afforded by the filer’s duty under this paragraph, by a protective order binding upon persons and enforceable by contempt, and by rejection of the filing by the Clerk. No order shall purport to seal or to redact a document already filed.

7.§

Limiting Instruction. Where the court admits a fact or datum solely to explain the basis of an expert opinion and not for its truth, the court shall, on timely request, restrict the evidence to its proper scope and instruct the trier of fact accordingly, as Rule 105 provides.

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