1 / 18

Understanding Opinion Evidence in Court: Rules, Exceptions, and Expert Testimony

Chapter 9 delves into the intricacies of opinion evidence in legal contexts, emphasizing that opinions are generally inadmissible according to Rule 602, which mandates actual knowledge for evidence. It clarifies the distinction between knowledge and opinion, stating that approximately 98% of what we believe we know are actually opinions. The chapter outlines permissible opinion types for nonspecialists under Rule 701, discusses the role of expert opinions and methodology reliability as set forth in Rule 702, and emphasizes the judge's critical role as a gatekeeper of admissible evidence.

melvin-walls
Télécharger la présentation

Understanding Opinion Evidence in Court: Rules, Exceptions, and Expert Testimony

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. CHAP. 9 :OPINION EVIDENCE P. JANICKE 2014

  2. OPINIONS ARE GENERALLY INADMISSIBLE • RULE 602 REQUIRES ACTUAL “KNOWLEDGE” FOR MOST TYPES OF EVIDENCE • SINCE KNOWLEDGE IS AN ILL-DEFINED CONCEPT, THE LINE BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND OPINION IS ILL DEFINED Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  3. OPINIONS • ABOUT 98% OF WHAT WE THINK WE “KNOW” ARE OPINIONS • OPINIONS CONSIST OF: • FACTS LEARNED FROM OTHERS WHO MAY ACTUALLY KNOW THEM • CONCLUSIONS WE HAVE DRAWN FROM OUR OWN OBSERVATIONS Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  4. THE OBJECTION : • GENERAL RULE: OPINIONS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN EVIDENCE • “OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR; IT CALLS FOR AN OPINION” • IF JUDGE AGREES, THIS SETS THE STAGE FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS • SOME KINDS OF OPINIONS ARE ADMISSIBLE Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  5. OPINIONS OF NON-EXPERTSRULE 701 • ALLOWED IF: • BASED ON A PHYSICAL PERCEPTION BY THE WITNESS, AND • RATIONALLY BASED, AND • HELPFUL TO THE TRIER OF FACT [NOTE: YOUR OPINIONS ABOUT FAMOUS OFFICE-HOLDERS WILL NOT QUALIFY] Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  6. “HELPFUL” MEANS THERE’S NO OTHER FEASIBLE WAY TO CONVEY THE WITNESS’S OBSERVATION • IF STATING A FEW FACTS CAN GIVE THE PICTURE, THE OPINION IS DISALLOWED Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  7. EXAMPLES OF ADMISSIBLE OPINIONS • HE WAS DRUNK • HE WAS UPSET • SHE WAS NERVOUS • SHE WAS ANGRY ALL REQUIRE FOUNDATION OF A PHYSICAL PERCEPTION Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  8. FURTHER EXAMPLES(TRADITIONALLY ALLOWED) • INSANITY • HANDWRITING BOTH REQUIRE FOUNDATION OF PHYSICAL PERCEPTION Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  9. PROBLEMS/CASES • 9A • 9B Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  10. EXPERT OPINIONS(RULE 702) • SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCE IN SOME AREA • SCIENTIFIC, BUSINESS, ARTS, CAR REPAIR, ETC., ETC. • CRIME DETECTION IS A CONTROVERSIAL AREA Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  11. EXPERT’S METHODOLOGY MUST BE RELIABLE • CHECKED INITIALLY BY THE JUDGE BEFORE TRIAL • IF JUDGE FINDS RELIABLE METHODOLOGY, EVIDENCE IS ADMITTED FOR JURY EVALUATION • JURY MAY FIND METHODOLOGY WAS UNRELIABLE AND GIVE IT NO WEIGHT Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  12. JUDGE AS GATEKEEPER • IF JUDGE FINDS METHODOLOGY RELIABLE: JUDGE IS NOT A FACTFINDER • SHE IS A SCREEN ON WHAT GETS THROUGH TO THE JURY • BUT: IF THE JUDGE FINDS METHODOLOGY UNRELIABLE, THE FINDING IS FINAL – JURY NEVER HEARS THE EVIDENCE Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  13. PROBLEMS/CASES • 9C • Daubert • DuPont [see posted materials] • 9D Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  14. OPINION ON AN ULTIMATE FACT [R. 704] • THE OLD CLICHÉ: “INVADING THE PROVINCE OF THE JURY” • WAS NONSENSE • NOW GENERALLY ALLOWED, IF OTHERWISE IN COMPLIANCE WITH RULES Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  15. EXCEPTION (FEDERAL RULE): STATE OF MIND OF CRIMINAL D. • THE OLD CLICHÉ SURVIVES HERE • USUALLY SANITY IS INVOLVED • EXPERT MUST STAY ONE-STEP-BACK • TEXAS RULE: DOES NOT HAVE THE EXCEPTION; • EXPERT CAN ALWAYS GO TO THE BOTTOM LINE, IF METHODOLOGY IS GOOD Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  16. COURT-APPOINTED EXPERT(RULE 706) • GOOD IN THEORY • LITIGATORS CRINGE! Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  17. STIPULATING EXPERTISE OF YOUR EXPERT WITNESS • OFTEN VOLUNTEERED BY ADVERSARY • SELDOM ACCEPTED • WOULD REMOVE DRAMA • NO FEAR OF OBJECTION ONCE THE OFFER IS MADE Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

  18. PROBLEMS/CASES • Exercise #8 • Film Clip from My Cousin Vinny on expert witness testimony Chap. 9 -- Opinion Evidence

More Related