October 23, 2001


99-10                                        


Amendment of Rule 103 of the
Michigan Rules of Evidence
____________________________

          On order of the Court, notice of the proposed changes
and an opportunity for comment in writing and at a public hearing
having been provided, and consideration having been given to the
comments received, the following amendment of Rule 103 of the
Michigan Rules of Evidence is adopted, to be effective January 1,
2002.
      [The present language is amended as indicated below.]

Rule 103  Rulings on Evidence.

(a)  Effect of erroneous ruling.  Error may not be predicated
upon a ruling which admits or excludes evidence unless a
substantial right of the party is affected, and

     (1)  Objection.  In case the ruling is one admitting
evidence, a timely objection or motion to strike appears of
record, stating the specific ground of objection, if the specific
ground was not apparent from the context; or

     (2)  Offer of proof.  In case the ruling is one excluding
evidence, the substance of the evidence was made known to the
court by offer or was apparent from the context within which
questions were asked.

     Once the court makes a definitive ruling on the record
admitting or excluding evidence, either at or before trial, a
party need not renew an objection or offer of proof to preserve a
claim of error for appeal.

(b)-(d)  [Unchanged.]

Staff Comment:  The October 23, 2001 amendment of MRE
103(a), effective January 1, 2002, is identical to the amendment
of FRE 103(a) that took effect on December 1, 2000.  The added
language says that a party need not make repetitive objections or
offers of proof after the court has made a "definitive ruling".

The staff comment is published only for the benefit of the bench
and bar and is not an authoritative construction by the Court.