Rule 615 — Excluding Witnesses from the Courtroom; Preventing an Excluded Witness’s Access to Trial Testimony

Fed. R. Evid. 615

• Source: Federal Rules of Evidence
• Rule: 615
• ARTICLE VI: WITNESSES
• Citation: Fed. R. Evid. 615

Text

(a) EXCLUDING WITNESSES. At a party’s request, the court must
order witnesses excluded from the courtroom so that they cannot
hear other witnesses’ testimony. Or the court may do so on its
own. But this rule does not authorize excluding:
(1) a party who is a natural person;
(2) one officer or employee of a party that is not a natural
person if that officer or employee has been designated as the
party’s representative by its attorney;
(3) any person whose presence a party shows to be essential
to presenting the party’s claim or defense; or
(4) a person authorized by statute to be present.
(b) ADDITIONAL ORDERS TO PREVENT DISCLOSING AND ACCESSING
TESTIMONY. An order under (a) operates only to exclude witnesses
from the courtroom. But the court may also, by order:
(1) prohibit disclosure of trial testimony to witnesses who
are excluded from the courtroom; and
(2) prohibit excluded witnesses from accessing trial testi-
mony.

Advisory Committee Notes

(As amended Mar. 2, 1987, eff. Oct. 1, 1987; Apr. 25, 1988, eff. Nov. 1, 1988; Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, §7075(a), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4405; Apr. 24, 1998, eff. Dec. 1, 1998; Apr. 26, 2011, eff. Dec. 1, 2011; Apr. 24, 2023, eff. Dec. 1, 2023.)