FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE
The Federal Rules of Evidence generally govern
civil and criminal proceedings in the courts of the
United States and proceedings before U.S. BANK-
RUPTCY judges and U.S. magistrates, to the extent
and with the exceptions stated in the rules. Pro-
mulgated by the U.S. Supreme Court and
amended by Congress from time to time, the Fed-
eral Rules of Evidence are considered legislative
enactments that have the force of statute, and
courts interpret them as they would any other
statute, employing traditional tools of statutory
construction in applying their provisions.
The rules are designed to secure fairness in
JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION, to eliminate unjus-
tifiable expense and delay, and to promote the
growth and development of the law of evidence
so that truth may be ascertained and proceed-
ings justly resolved. Huff v. White Motor Corpo-
ration, 609 F.2d 286 (7th Cir. Ind. 1979). But the
rules are not intended to result in an exhaustive
search for a total and complete understanding of
every civil and criminal case that comes before a
federal court. Rather, the rules are meant to assist
lawyer-adversaries and common sense triers-of-
fact in resolving particularized legal disputes.
Accordingly, the rules give courts authority to
adapt the laws of evidence to circumstances as
they arise.
The Federal Rules of Evidence were adopted
by order of the Supreme Court on November 20,
1972, transmitted to Congress by Chief Justice
WARREN E. BURGER on February 5, 1973, and
became effective on July 1, 1973. In enacting
these rules, the Supreme Court and Congress did
not intend to wipe out years of COMMON LAW
development in the field of evidence. To the con-
trary, the Federal Rules of Evidence largely incor-
porate the judge-made, common law evidentiary
rules in existence at the time of their adoption,
and where the federal rules contain gaps or omis-
sions, courts may answer unresolved questions
by relying on common law precedent. Like their
common law predecessors, the federal rules gov-
ern the overall admissibility of evidence, the lim-
itations of relevant evidence, the definition of
prejudicial and cumulative evidence, the admis-
sibility of HEARSAY, lay and EXPERT TESTIMONY,
the nature of evidentiary presumptions, the
grounds for authentication and identification of
documentary evidence, and the scope of eviden-
tiary privileges, like the work product, attorney-
client, and doctor-patient privileges.
The Federal Rules of Evidence apply to (1)
the U.S. district courts, including the federal dis-
trict court in Washington, D.C.; (2) the federal
district courts located in Puerto Rico, Guam, the
Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana
Islands; (3) the U.S. COURTS OF APPEALS; (4) the
U.S. Claims Court; (5) U.S. bankruptcy courts
and U.S. magistrates. Although the rules do not
specify whether they apply to the U.S Supreme
Court, that Court has applied the rules as if they
do. Pursuant to EXECUTIVE ORDER, military
courts-martial are required to apply rules of evi-
dence that substantially conform to the Federal
Rules of Evidence. Executive Order No. 12473.
However, the Federal Rules of Evidence do not
generally apply to administrative agencies.
The Federal Rules of Evidence apply to most
