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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document691 Filed 11/22/21 Page3of7
opinions, the bases and reasons for those opinions, and the witness’s qualifications.” Fed. R.
Crim. P. 16(b)(1)(C). The purpose of this rule is to “minimize surprise that often results from
unexpected expert testimony, reduce the need for continuances, and to provide the opponent with
a fair opportunity to test the merit of the expert’s testimony through focused cross-examination.”
Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(1)(C) advisory committee’s note to 1993 amendment. Thus, to satisfy Rule
16, a notice must not merely describe the “general topics” on which experts will testify but
actually “summarize the experts’ opinions about those topics” and “describe the bases for the
experts’ opinions.” United States v. Ulbricht, 858 F.3d 71, 115 (2d Cir. 2017) (emphasis added);
United States v. Valle, No. 12-CR-847 (PGG), 2013 WL 440687, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 2, 2013)
(“Merely identifying the general topics about which the expert will testify is insufficient; rather,
the summary must reveal the expert’s actual opinions.”).
If the Defense’s disclosure of an expert witness does not satisfy Rule 16, the Court has
“broad discretion” to fashion an appropriate remedy. Ulbricht, 858 F.3d at 115. That discretion
is guided by factors including “why disclosure was not made, the extent of the prejudice, if any,
to the opposing party, the feasibility of rectifying that prejudice by a continuance, and any other
relevant circumstances.” /d. (quoting United States v. Lee, 834 F.3d 145, 159 (2d Cir. 2016)).
When a disclosure merely lists general topics on which the expert might testify, the Second
Circuit has several times held that the district court has discretion to exclude the expert entirely.
See id. at 118; United States v. Vaccarelli, No. 20-3768-CR, 2021 WL 4805218, at *2 (2d Cir.
Oct. 15, 2021).
Il. Discussion
As a preliminary matter, the Defense argues that the Government’s motion is
“premature” because the Government’s arguments are about the relevance and prejudice of the
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00011134.jpg |
| File Size | 703.1 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.3% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,058 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 18:05:10.849003 |