Federal Rules of Evidence: The Legislative and Drafting History

Abstract

The following legislative and drafting history of the new federal rules is compiled from the detailed notes of the Advisory Committee appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States, notes and comments of the House Committee on the Judiciary, notes and comments of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and notes of the Committee of Conference. The approach has been to include only those notes and comments which may be helpful to an understanding and interpretation of the rules as finally enacted; thus, many such notes and comments respecting rules, amendments, or deletions not finally adopted have, in the interest of brevity, been omitted. Further, following a brief history of each rule, the notes and comments relevant to that rule as enacted have been collected for ease of reference.