TITLE SEVEN — OPINION AND EXPERT EVIDENCE
Rule 706. Court-Appointed Experts
Appointment. If legally permissible, the court, on its own or at the request of a party, may appoint an expert. Unless mandated by law to accept the assignment, the expert shall have the right to refuse such appointment. The court, after providing an opportunity to the parties to participate, shall inform the expert of his or her duties. The expert may be required to testify.
Procedure for Appointment.
Motion or Own Initiative. A party seeking the appointment of an expert shall proceed by motion filed and served as provided by Rid. R. Civ. P. 7.1 or Rid. R. Crim. P. 13. The court may act upon its own initiative upon notice to the parties and an opportunity to be heard.
Nomination. The parties may agree upon a person to be appointed and may submit nominations. The court may appoint a person agreed upon by the parties, a person of its own selection, or no person at all.
Order of Appointment. The court shall enter a written order of appointment. The order shall identify the person appointed by the username of the account through which that person acts, state the subject of the appointment, state the questions the expert is to address, identify the materials the expert is to examine, fix the time within which the expert shall report in hours or days, state the compensation to be allowed and the source of its payment, and state the extent to which the expert may communicate with the parties.
Notice. The order of appointment shall be entered upon the docket and is served upon every participant by the electronic filing system upon the Clerk’s acceptance of the filing. In a matter in which the general filing channel is closed, notice shall be given as the court directs.
Refusal; Replacement. A person who is not mandated by law to accept the assignment may decline it, and shall notify the court promptly upon declining. The court may thereupon appoint another person or proceed without an appointment.
Qualification. A person appointed under this rule shall satisfy Rule 702 before stating an opinion. Appointment by the court is not a determination that the person is qualified, and any party may move under Rule 702(4) or examine upon voir dire under Rule 702(3).
Disqualification. Upon motion, the court shall relieve an appointed expert who is shown to have an interest in the outcome, a relationship to a party or to counsel that would prevent an impartial examination, or a conflict arising from prior engagement in the matter.
Duties of the Appointed Expert.
Advising the Parties. The appointed expert shall advise every party of the expert’s findings, in writing, at the time and in the manner the order directs.
Deposition. Any party may depose the appointed expert as provided by Rid. R. Civ. P. 23 and Rid. R. Civ. P. 24.
Testimony. The appointed expert may be called to testify by the court or by any party. Every party, including the party that called the expert and the party that requested the appointment, may cross-examine the expert.
No Ex Parte Communication. No party, and no attorney for a party, shall communicate with an appointed expert concerning the subject of the appointment except in the presence of every other party, in the case’s Discord proceeding communications, by a filing served upon every participant, or as the order of appointment expressly permits. The court may communicate with the appointed expert upon notice to the parties.
Disclosure of Appointment. The fact that the court appointed the expert witness shall not be disclosed to the jury.
Compensation.
Amount. The court shall fix the reasonable compensation of an appointed expert and shall state it in the order of appointment or in a later order.
Source. In a criminal case, and in any proceeding in which a party has been permitted to proceed without payment of fees, compensation shall be paid as the court directs and as provided by law. In every other case, compensation shall be paid by the parties in the proportion the court directs, and is taxable as a cost against the party or parties the court directs, as 7 R. Stat. § 132.201 permits.
Enforcement. An order allowing compensation is enforceable as a money judgment, and enforcement is governed by Rid. R. Civ. P. 50.
Parties’ Choice of Their Own Experts. This section does not limit a party in calling its own experts.
Interpreters. The appointment of an interpreter is governed by Rule 604, by Rid. R. Civ. P. 31, and by Rid. R. Crim. P. 41, and not by this rule. An interpreter is not an expert witness by reason of the appointment, and does not state an opinion under Rule 702 by reason of interpreting.