Fed. R. Evid.
Law & Legal abbreviation · Legal Citation
| Stands for | Federal Rules of Evidence |
|---|---|
| Categories | Law & Legal |
Fed. R. Evid. stands for Federal Rules of Evidence, a legal citation abbreviation.
Rules governing what evidence is admissible in federal court proceedings, covering relevance, character evidence, privileges, witnesses, expert testimony, hearsay and authentication. Congress enacted them in 1975, and most states have adopted versions of them.
Example: The court excluded the autopsy photograph under Fed. R. Evid. 403 as unfairly prejudicial.
Usage notes
Practitioners commonly say "FRE 403". Key provisions include Rule 401 (relevance), Rule 404(b) (other acts), Rule 702 (expert testimony, amended in 2023 to stress the judge's gatekeeping role) and Rules 801 to 807 (hearsay). Unlike the other federal rule sets, they were enacted by statute rather than simply promulgated by the Supreme Court.
Related abbreviations
More legal citation abbreviations
- F.4th – Federal Reporter, Fourth Series
- F.R.D. – Federal Rules Decisions
- Fed. Cl. – Federal Claims Reporter
- Fed. R. App. P. – Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure
- Fed. R. Civ. P. – Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
- Fed. R. Crim. P. – Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Fed. Reg. – Federal Register
- H.R. Rep. – House Report
- I.R.C. – Internal Revenue Code
- Id. – Idem (the same)
- infra – Infra (below)
- L. Ed. – Lawyers' Edition
See all 87 legal citation abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not legal advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.