A •u1t1
Designation: E620 -11
!lfr~~HA+
Standard Practice for
Reporting Opinions of Scientific or Technical Experts 1
Thi.s standard is Issued under the fu:cd designatioo E6_')();_ the nambcr immcdiatdy (oUowing thc dcsignation inclicuto. the year of
original adoption or, in me case of revisioo. lhe year oí las, fe'\oisioo. A number in pg.reotbeses indi~ tbe year of last reapproval. A
supen,cript epsüon (e) indicato. an cdilorial changc- siooe the 1ai.a rnision or rc3pp'0\'3l
l. Scope
1. 1 This practice covers the scope of information to be
contained in formal wriuen recbnical reports whicb express thc
opinions of the scienrific or technical expert with respect to tbe
study of items that are or may reasonably be expected to be the
subject of criminal or civil litigation.
1.2 lf cornpliance with rhis standard is claimed, the justifi­
cauons for any deviations from this standard must be docu­
mented.
1.3 This standard may i111·0/11e hazardous materials. opera­
tions. and equipment, This standard does 1101 purport ro
address ali of the safety concems associared wirh irs use. lt is
rhe re.<pon.<ibiliryof whoever uses rhis standard ro consult a11d
esrablish appro¡,riate safery a,u/ heulth ¡,racrices 11nd deter­
mine the applicability of regularo,y limitations prior to llSe.
2. Rcfcrcnced Documcnts
2. 1 ASTM Srandards:2
E678 Practice for Evaluatioo of Scieotific or Technical Data
3. Significancc and Use
3. 1 This practice establishes !hose element5 of !he expen's
opinion repon which will make the repon understandable to
the intended recipient and focus on !he technical aspects
germane to the purpose for which the opinion is rendered.
4. Report Content
4.1 While this standard does not specify repon formal. !he
following inforrnation shall be included:
4. J. 1 De.<criprive lnfonna1io11­ The following inforrna­
tion shall be contained within the repon, preferably in the
introducúon:
4.1.2 ldentifying number and date !he repon was prepared.
' This prncúce is under lile jurisdictioa of AS'Th1 Comminee E.30 oo Fuen..QC
Scicnres and is Lhe dir«t respon:.ibili1y of SubcolnmitlC'C' E.l0.11 oa ln1crdisciplin-
ary Forcnsic Scie.ncc Standan:k.
Currenl edition appro\•ed ~lay 1. 2011. Publishcd JuOG 201 l. Ori~ina:lly
approvcd in 19n. Last prcvious cdilion appn)''ed in 2004 as E620-04. 001:
10.1520/E0620-1 l.
~ Fo,r rcfcrcnccd AST~1 standard." visit thc ASTh1 vocbsite. w.-rw.astm.org. c,r
(."(Hll:ltl ASTh,1 Cu:.10,nerService at ~\j("e@~t•n.~. For-Annual 8ool of AST~I
Standnrds volumc infonna1ioo. refcr to thc standanfs Documcn1 Summary pagc on
the ASTht \\'ebsite.
Copyri(tfl O ASTM lnternational, 100 Barr Hartxw Orive. PO 9ox C700. Wal ~
4.1.3 Name, address, and affiliation of each person who has
rendered an opinión contained in the repon.
4.1.4 Name of the person or organization. or both, request­
ing !he repon.
4.1.5 Generic description of the itenus) examined together
with specific dala 10 uniquely identify the item(s) such as a
serial number, rnarking, or some other means of adequately
identifying !he itemís) examined,
4.1.6 Date and location of examination,
4.1.7 The scope of investigauve activities performed in
preparation for reaching conclusions and opinions.
4.2 Pertinent Facts:
4.2.1 The repon shall contain al I facts thar are pertinent to
the opinión rendered and shall be reponed in accordance with
the classifications set forth in 4.2.1.1 and ­t2. l.2.
4.2.1.1 ldentify those facts and data based on the observa­
tions by the expert of the iternfs) in question or phowgraphs
lhereof.
4.2.1.2 ldentify other facts and data that the expert relies
upon in rendering an opinión.
4.2.2 Wbenever pertinent findings of fact are established
lhrough examination or testing, 1he person(s) rendering the
opinión based on such findings shall have either supervised,
conducted, participated in or observed such exarnination or
testing, and failing to do any one of thern sball list the name
and business address of each person who supervised or
conducted each exarnination or test establishing such findings
of faer.
4.2.3 Evaluate facts and data according to Practice E678.
4.3 Opinions and Conclusions:
4.3.1 The repon shall contain ali of the technical opinions
and conclusions rendered by the expert concerning the purpose
for which the expert was engaged.
4.3.2 The repon shall contain the logic and reasoning of the
expert by which each of the opinions and conclusions were
reached.
4.4 Sig1u1111re:
4.4.1 The repon shall contain the signaiure of each person
wbo has rendered a joint or separate opinion contained in the
repon. The signature(s) sball be at the end of the opinión. A
professional seat should be used, if applicable. lf an opinión
rendered is lhat of rwo or more expcrts, a signature page rnay
be used.
PA 19428-29!59 Unil8d ~
 • E620-11
4.5 The experts' qualifications may be included with che 4.7 Appendix:
report, if requested. 4.7.1 An appendix may be used in connection with the
4.6 Formats: report. Toe appendix may contain tables. graphs. charts,
4.6.1 In sorne jurísdictions, the formar and coment of che photos. drawings. test results or data, and other appropriate
report rnay be specified in court rules. information pertinent to che opinion.

ASTM lntemationaf takes no posi1ion respeaing th8 vafdiy of any patent righls assened #l ccnnection with any item mentioned
in this standard. Users of thls standard are ex¡xessty a<Msed thal detenninatiotl of the ,aj\fjy of any such patent rights. and the risk
of inlringement o/ sucl> rights, are entirely lhetr """ responsibility.

Thls standard Is su/Jj8d to 18'islon al any tin8 by the ,espo,.­ tedrlcal committoo and mus, be tevlewed •­r hve yeats and
ifnot revised. eilher rea.pproved orwithckawn.YOUT cc.wm>eflrs are invit.ed either tor nwiso'J olthis standard orfot addmonal standards
and shovld be addressed lo ASTM Jntemational Headquarters. Yoiurcommen.ts wi6 teceive careM c;onskferafion ata meeting of the
responsib/e téChnical óOIMtrttee. nf>i::n you may atlend.. 11 )'OU leel thal fQJf comments h.ave 001 received a faJIhearíng you shóuld
make your v.l'ews known to lhe ASTM Comminee on Slandan:Js, at the a<ttess shoM1 below.

This standard is copyrigñted by ASTM lntemalional. 100 Batr Harlxx o,;,,,,. PO 8ox ClOO. West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959,
United Slates. Individual reprinls (single o, mullpe copies) of lhis sJandard may be oblaJned by contacting ASTM at /he above
addl8SS ot at 511J./132·9585 (phooo). 511J./132·9555 (/ax). or 58MC80astm.org (&-mail): 0( lhlOug/> /he ASTM websltB
(www.astm.org). Pelmission rights to photooopy the _,, may siso be S8CVfed lrom the ASTM website (www.astm.org/
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