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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2255
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE HOVIS.
4954H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal section 490.065, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to
expert witnesses.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 490.065, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu
2 thereof, to be known as section 490.065, to read as follows:
490.065. 1. In actions brought under chapter 451, 452, 453, 454, or 455 or in actions
2 adjudicated in juvenile courts under chapter 21 1 or in family courts under chapter 487, or in
3 all proceedings before the probate division of the circuit court, or in all actions or proceedings
4 in which there is no right to a jury trial:
5 (1) If scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to
6 understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by
7 knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify thereto in the form of an
8 opinion or otherwise;
9 (2) T estimony by such an expert witness in the form of an opinion or inference
10 otherwise admissible is not objectionable because it embraces an ultimate issue to be decided
11 by the trier of fact;
12 (3) The facts or data in a particular case upon which an expert bases an opinion or
13 inference may be those perceived by or made known to him at or before the hearing and must
14 be of a type reasonably relied upon by experts in the field in forming opinions or inferences
15 upon the subject and must be otherwise reasonably reliable;
16 (4) If a reasonable foundation is laid, an expert may testify in terms of opinion or
17 inference and give the reasons therefor without the use of hypothetical questions, unless the
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
18 court believes the use of a hypothetical question will make the expert's opinion more
19 understandable or of greater assistance to the jury due to the particular facts of the case.
20 2. In all actions except those to which subsection 1 of this section applies:
21 (1) A witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training,
22 or education may testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise if the prop onent
23 demonstrates to the court that it is mor e likely than not that :
24 (a) The expert's scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier
25 of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue;
26 (b) The testimony is based on suf ficient facts or data;
27 (c) The testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods; and
28 (d) The [ expert has reliably applied ] expert's opinion ref lects a reliab le application
29 of the principles and methods to the facts of the case;
30 (2) An expert may base an opinion on facts or data in the case that the expert has been
31 made aware of or personally observed. If experts in the particular field would reasonably rely
32 on those kinds of facts or data in forming an opinion on the subject, they need not be
33 admissible for the opinion to be admitted. But if the facts or data would otherwise be
34 inadmissible, the proponent of the opinion may disclose them to the jury only if their
35 probative value in helping the jury evaluate the opinion substantially outweighs their
36 prejudicial ef fect;
37 (3) (a) An opinion is not objectionable just because it embraces an ultimate issue.
38 (b) In a criminal case, an expert witness shall not state an opinion about whether the
39 defendant did or did not have a mental state or condition that constitutes an element of the
40 crime char ged or of a defense. Those matters are for the trier of fact alone;
41 (4) Unless the court orders otherwise, an expert may state an opinion and give the
42 reasons for it without first testifying to the underlying facts or data. But the expert may be
43 required to disclose those facts or data on cross-examination.
44 3. The provisions of this section shall not prevent a person, partnership, association,
45 or corporation, as owner , from testifying as to the reasonable market value of the owner's
46 land.
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