CO · rules
CRE 706
Court Appointed Experts
(a) Appointment. The court may on its own motion or on the motion of any party
enter an order to show cause why expert witnesses should not be appointed, and may
request the parties to submit nominations. The court may appoint any expert witnesses
agreed upon by the parties, and may appoint expert witnesses of its own selection. An
expert witness shall not be appointed by the court unless he consents to act. A witness so
appointed shall be informed of his duties by the court in writing, a copy of which shall be
filed with the clerk, or at a conference in which the parties shall have opportunity to
participate. A witness so appointed shall advise the parties of his findings, if any; his
deposition may be taken by any party; and he may be called to testify by the court or any
party. He shall be subject to cross-examination by each party, including a party calling him
as a witness.
(b) Compensation. Expert witnesses so appointed are entitled to reasonable compensation in whatever sum the court may allow. The compensation thus fixed is payable from
funds which may be provided by law in criminal cases and civil actions and proceedings
involving just compensation under the fifth amendment. In other civil actions and proceedings the compensation shall be paid by the parties in such proportion and at such time as
the court directs, and thereafter charged in like manner as other costs.
(c) Disclosure of appointment. In the exercise of its discretion, the court may
authorize disclosure to the jury of the fact that the court appointed the expert witness.
(d) Parties’ experts of own selection. Nothing in this rule limits the parties in calling
expert witnesses of their own selection.
History
(Federal Rule Identical.) ANNOTATION Law reviews. For article, ‘‘The Use of Court Appointed Experts and Masters in Civil Cases’’, see 46 Colo. Law. 25 (Jan. 2017). Court-appointed expert who expresses his professional opinion in trial is not a partisan, but is, in effect, the court’s witness. Massey v. District Court, 180 Colo. 359, 506 P.2d 128 (1973); In re Lorenzo, 721 P.2d 155 (Colo. App. 1986).
Provenance
- Source
- content.leg.colorado.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-15
- Edition
- 2026-09-15
- Content hash
c199cfc86f42ca1fe5a556d43facc4671c71c556112ec5948e6ea1e88652347e
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