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Inadmissible Evidence As A Basis For Expert Opinion Testimony: A Response To Professor Carlson, Paul R. Rice

Vanderbilt Law Review

Rule 703 of the Federal Rules of Evidence permits expert witnesses to offer opinions based upon evidence that has not been offered in the proceedings. The Rule also sanctions the expert's basing her opinion on inadmissible evidence if that evidence is "of a type reasonably relied upon by experts in the particular field informing opinions or inferences upon the subject." In a recent Essay in this Review, Professor Carlson presents a helpful exposition of the confused evidentiary status of this otherwise inadmissible evidence. He correctly notes that the majority of courts refuse to allow the inadmissible evidence upon which the …