Legal Definition and Related Resources of Opinion Evidence

The general rule is that witnesses are only to be permitted to testify to matters of fact and it is for the court to make inferences from the facts proved and form its own opinion of the matter in issue . A witness will not be, as a rule, allowed to state his opinion on any matter before the court. However, the exception to this rule is the evidence of experts who are persons having peculiar skills and knowledge , derived from their education or experience or both on technical matters which the ordinary man cannot be expected to possess. Such is the testimony of a medical doctor in personal injury cases; the testimony of a pathologist on the cause of death where the same is in issue, etc. See federal rules of evidence 702 and 703, Appendix 5. Apart from the opinion of experts, a lay person may under limited circumstances be permitted to give his opinion as evidence where a judge finds that such opinions may be rationally based on the perceptions of the witness and that they are helpful to a clear understanding of his testimony or to the determination of the fact in issue. See Rule 56 (I) of uniform Rules of Evidence. Also, see Atwood v Atwood, 84 Conn. 169, 79 A. 59.

Browse or run a search for Opinion Evidence in the American Encyclopedia of Law, the Asian Encyclopedia of Law, the European Encyclopedia of Law, the UK Encyclopedia of Law or the Latin American and Spanish Encyclopedia of Law.

Opinion Evidence in Historical Law

You might be interested in the historical meaning of this term. Browse or search for Opinion Evidence in Historical Law in the Encyclopedia of Law.

Search for legal acronyms and/or abbreviations containing Opinion Evidence in the Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary.

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Opinion Evidence Legal Definition

Witnesses are normally required to confine their testimony to statements of fact and are not allowed to give their opinions in court. However, if a witness is qualified as an expert in a particular field, he or she may be allowed to state an opinion as an expert based on certain facts.

Opinion evidence in Law Enforcement

Main Entry: Law Enforcement in the Legal Dictionary. This section provides, in the context of Law Enforcement, a partial definition of opinion evidence.

Resources

See Also

• Law Enforcement Officer
• Police
• Law Enforcement Agency

Further Reading

• opinion evidence in A Dictionary of Law Enforcement (Oxford University Press)
• opinion evidence in the Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement
• A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis