Del. R. Evid. 614

As amended through December 15, 2023

Rule 614 - Court's Calling or Examining a Witness

(a)Calling. The court may call a witness on its own or at a party's request. Each party is entitled to cross-examine the witness.

(b)Examining. The court may examine a witness regardless of who calls the witness.

(c)Objections. A party may object to the court's calling or examining a witness either at that time or at the next opportunity when the jury is not present.

Del. R. Evid. 614

Amended November 28, 2017, effective 1/1/2018.

Comment

This rule tracks F.R.E. 614.

The Committee believed that Rule 614(a) should be used sparingly in jury trials. If a judge proposes to call a witness in a jury trial he should advise counsel out of the presence of the jury and give counsel opportunity to object. The Committee recognized that this rule may be helpful in nonjury trials, especially if a party is appearing pro se. In all cases, however, the parties should be given an opportunity to object to the calling of a witness by the court before the witness is called.

D.R.E. 614 was amended in 2017 in response to the 2011 restyling of the Federal Rules of Evidence. The amendment is intended to be stylistic only. There is no intent to change any result in ruling on evidence admissibility.