Practice question
A stranger who briefly sees a person claims to diagnose a complex disorder requiring specialized expertise. The witness has no relevant training or experience and invokes Section 53's allowance for impressions of emotion or appearance. Which assessment is correct?
- Appearance impressions authorize every technical diagnosis
- All strangers automatically qualify as experts
- No foundation is needed if the statement is confident
- The ordinary-impression allowance does not itself establish competence to give that specialized diagnosis; the relevant expert foundation remains necessary
- Ordinary witnesses may never describe anything they perceive
Legal references
- 2019 Revised Rules on Evidence, Rule 130 Sections 51–53 and Rule 133 Section 5: https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/am_19-08-15-sc_2019.html
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