What Are the Rules of Evidence?

To ensure the fair administration of justice, and to minimize potential bias and malfeasance in federal trials, the Federal Rules of Evidence were adopted in 1975. The FRE governs the admissibility of evidence.

Admissible Evidence

The FRE requires that for evidence to be admissible, it must be relevant. Relevance means evidence must tend to prove or disprove a material fact at issue in the case.

Hearsay Prohibited

The FRE prohibits the admission of hearsay evidence. Hearsay is any out-of-court statement, admitted in court, to prove the truth of the statement. It's a complicated concept, but the general rule is if the statement is made out of court by someone not testifying, it's inadmissible.

Character Evidence

With only a few exceptions, evidence about someone's character is not admissible. Neither are previous criminal convictions unless the convictions have to do with crimes of dishonesty.

Privileges

The FRE also governs whether a witness has a privilege, meaning he cannot be forced to testify. It goes into great detail about attorney-client privileges.

Expert Testimony

The rules also cover what is required for an expert witness to testify. Rule 702 outlines the various criteria that must be met before a witness will be considered an expert and be allowed to testify.

References

• Federal Rules of Evidence

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