Also known as: Reg M Rule 104 · Regulation M Rule 104 · Rule 104 · Reg. M § 104
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A rule governing preliminary questions of admissibility. The court decides any preliminary question about whether a witness is qualified, a privilege exists, or evidence is admissible, and is not bound by the evidence rules except those on privilege. When relevance of evidence depends on a preliminary fact, the court applies the conditional-relevance standard and admits the evidence if a reasonable juror could find the fact exists.
Lee, a chemist at Apex Pharma, faces charges for falsifying stability test data. The prosecutor offers testimony from a former coworker that Lee previously altered assay results at Metro Labs. The court finds sufficient evidence for a reasonable juror to conclude Lee committed the prior act and that its probative value on intent is not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice. The testimony is admitted subject to the jury's ultimate determination.
A trader is investigated for alleged manipulative trading during a distribution. The court reviews whether sufficient evidence exists for a reasonable juror to find the trader engaged in the prior acts and whether the probative value on intent is substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice. The evidence of prior dealings is evaluated under the conditional relevance standard before the jury hears the testimony.
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The court asks whether there is sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror could find that the preliminary fact exists. The court may admit the evidence subject to later proof of that fact.
No. The court applies the conditional relevance standard and asks only whether a reasonable juror could find that the defendant committed the prior act. The court then performs Rule 403 balancing.
Yes. The court is not bound by the evidence rules other than privilege when resolving preliminary questions of qualification. Materials that would be inadmissible at trial may still be considered for this limited purpose.
…positioner' as defined in Rule 17a-17 under the Act which is not a member of the Exchange. (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 104, the specialist may buy for his own account on a plus or zero plus tick or sell for his own account on a minus or zero minus tick any or all of the stock which is to be sold or purchased…