Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 90.704 (2025)

Basis of opinion testimony by experts.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session
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90.704 Basis of opinion testimony by experts.The facts or data upon which an expert bases an opinion or inference may be those perceived by, or made known to, the expert at or before the trial. If the facts or data are of a type reasonably relied upon by experts in the subject to support the opinion expressed, the facts or data need not be admissible in evidence. Facts or data that are otherwise inadmissible may not be disclosed to the jury by the proponent of the opinion or inference unless the court determines that their probative value in assisting the jury to evaluate the expert’s opinion substantially outweighs their prejudicial effect.
History.s. 1, ch. 76-237; s. 1, ch. 77-77; s. 22, ch. 78-361; s. 1, ch. 78-379; s. 495, ch. 95-147; s. 2, ch. 2013-107.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 101 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1981–2024 · leading case: Linn v. Fossum, 946 So. 2d 1032 (Fla. 2006).
Linn v. Fossum, 946 So. 2d 1032 (Fla. 2006). · cites it 16× “" § 90.704, Fla. Stat. (2005). We quash Linn and approve Schwarz to the extent it is consistent with this opinion.”
Carratelli v. State, 832 So. 2d 850 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002). · cites it 10× “(quoting § 90.704, Fla. Stat. (1987)). The court observed that the expert "formed her opinion based upon the autopsy report, the toxicology report, the evidence receipts, the photographs of the body, and all other paperwork filed in the case.”
Smith v. State, 28 So. 3d 838 (Fla. 2009). · cites it 4× “Section 90.704, Florida Statutes (2005), further provides guidelines for the data upon which an expert may rely to reach an opinion or conclusion: "If the facts or data are of a type reasonably relied upon by experts in the subject to support the opinion *856 expressed, the…”
Schoenwetter v. State, 931 So. 2d 857 (Fla. 2006). · cites it 3× “Section 90.704, Florida Statutes (2000), provides that an expert is permitted to express an opinion on matters in which the witness has expertise when the opinion is in response to facts disclosed to the expert at or before the trial.”
Alston v. State, 723 So. 2d 148 (Fla. 1998). · cites it 4× “Floro's reliance on Coon's antemortem dental records was permissible under section 90.704, Florida Statutes (1995). [15] Moreover, even if we concluded that the admission of this testimony was error, we would find the error harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because other…”
Jones v. Sec'y, Florida Dep't of Corr., 834 F.3d 1299 (11th Cir. 2016). “” (emphasis added)); Fla. Stat. § 90.704 (“The facts or data upon which an expert bases an opinion or inference may be those perceived by, or made known to, the expert' at or before the trial.”
Linn v. Fossum, 894 So. 2d 974 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). · cites it 17× “§ 90.704, Fla. Stat. (2003). The purpose of this section is to enable experts to reach their opinions and explain them in the manner in which they would in their own offices and laboratories.”
Special v. Baux, 79 So. 3d 755 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011). · cites it 4× “Dildy a type of fact that could bear on his opinion under section 90.704, Florida Statutes (2009). The plaintiff's cross examination did not violate the rule stated in Faucher .”
Dufour v. State, 69 So. 3d 235 (Fla. 2011). · cites it 4× “In forming opinions, experts can rely on information which is not itself admissible, under section 90.704, Florida Statutes (2004), which provides: The facts or data upon which an expert bases an opinion or inference may be those perceived by, or made known to, the expert at or…”
Tavares David Calloway v. State of Florida, 210 So. 3d 1160 (Fla. 2017). · cites it 2× “We review evidentiary rulings by a trial court for abuse of discretion. Frances v. State, 970 So.”
Davis v. State, 121 So. 3d 462 (Fla. 2013). · cites it 4× “” § 90.704, Fla. Stat. (2009). Accordingly, we find that Davis has not demonstrated that the trial court abused its discretion.”
Terry v. State, 668 So. 2d 954 (Fla. 1996). · cites it 2× “§ 90.704, Fla.Stat. (1993). Section 90.702 requires that before an expert may testify in the form of an opinion, two preliminary factual determinations must be made by the court under section 90.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.

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