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Publication Date

12-2005

Document Type

Survey Article

Abstract

During its 2005 session, the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation, commonly known as Senate Bill 3, that will, if upheld by the courts, dramatically impact Georgia's civil justice system. Two provisions of Senate Bill 3 will change Georgia evidence law. The Official Code of Georgia Annotated ("O.C.G.A.") section 24-9-67.1(f), discussed in more detail below, purports to adopt Federal Rule of Evidence 702, the United States Supreme Court's decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , and create special rules for expert testimony in medical negligence actions. A new rule for the admission of mistake or error by medical providers is adopted by O.C.G.A. section 24-3-37.1, also discussed below.

The General Assembly also visited substantial changes on the criminal justice system by way of the Criminal Justice Act of 2005. Several provisions of the Act, now codified at O.C.G.A. sections 24-9-81, 24-9- 84, and 24-9-84.1 enacted new evidence rules that apply to both civil and criminal cases. As discussed in more detail below, these provisions change Georgia law with regard to impeaching witnesses.

Finally, the State Bar of Georgia again proposed that the General Assembly adopt, with some exceptions and variations, the Federal Rules of Evidence. As reported in a previous survey, the State Bar has, for over fifteen years, pushed the adoption of the Federal Rules of Evidence. The current version of the proposed rules can be found at the State Bar's website.

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