Posted: February 23, 2009
Rules of Evidence
URE 0701. Opinion testimony by lay witnesses. Amend. Adds to the required grounds for opinion testimony by a lay witness that the opinion is not based on specialized knowledge within the scope of Rule 702.
URE 0703 Bases of opinion testimony by experts. Amend. Prohibits inadmissible data used to form an expert opinion from being disclosed to the jury unless the probative value substantially outweighs the prejudicial effect.
Written transcripts provide an efficient way to reference particular points in a proceeding. Eliminating written transcripts will greatly increase time for attorneys to locate relevant material and therefore costs to clients will increase as well. The time necessary to verify content will also result in increased time and costs. In addition, the recording equipment has proved to be fallible, thereby increasing the risk that complete records of significant proceedings will not be available.