Rule 2:102. Scope and Construction of These Rules

• Library: A Guide to the Rules of Evidence in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2021 Ed.)

Rule 2:102. SCOPE AND CONSTRUCTION OF THESE RULES

These Rules state the law of evidence in Virginia. They are adopted to implement established principles under the common law and not to change any established case law rendered prior to the adoption of the Rules. Common law case authority, whether decided before or after the effective date of the Rules of Evidence, may be argued to the courts and considered in interpreting and applying the Rules of Evidence. As to matters not covered by these Rules, the existing law remains in effect. Where no rule is set out on a particular topic, adoption of the Rules shall have no effect on current law or practice on that topic.

NOTES

This scope provision of the Virginia Rules of Evidence reflects important policy decisions that undergird the application of the Rules, and played an important part in the process by which they were approved. Three important aspects of the operation of the Rules of Evidence are reflected in Rule 2:102: (1) the basic premise of the Rules is a restatement of traditional Virginia doctrine, without substantive change; (2) on various specific evidentiary issues that are not directly addressed in the Virginia Rules of Evidence, prior doctrine continues to apply, whether it was derived from case law or statutes; and (3) even on topics addressed by a particular Rule of Evidence, prior case law interpretations of the doctrine embodied by the Rule may be cited by counsel, and relied on by the...