Rule 107 - [Effective 1/1/2025] Illustrative Aids(a) Permitted Uses. The court may allow a party to present an illustrative aid to help the trier of fact understand the evidence or argument if the aid's utility in assisting comprehension is not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, or wasting time.(b) Use in Jury Deliberations. An illustrative aid is not evidence and must not be provided to the jury during deliberations unless: (1) all parties consent; or(2) the court, for good cause, orders otherwise.(c) Record. When practicable, an illustrative aid used at trial must be entered into the record.(d) Summaries of Voluminous Materials Admitted as Evidence. A summary, chart, or calculation admitted as evidence to prove the content of voluminous admissible evidence is governed by Rule 1006.(e) Definition of Illustrative Aid. An "illustrative aid" is any presentation offered not as evidence but rather to assist the trier of fact in understanding evidence or argument.Added Aug. 22, 2024, effective 1/1/2025Comment to 2025 Amendment
The amendment establishes a new Rule 107 to provide standards for the use of illustrative aids. An illustrative aid is to be distinguished from "demonstrative evidence," which is a term better applied to substantive evidence offered to prove, by demonstration, a disputed fact. Usually, the jury is permitted to take demonstrative evidence to the jury room during deliberations and use it to help determine the disputed facts. The category covered by this rule is information offered for the narrow purpose of helping the trier of fact understand what is being communicated to them by the witness or party presenting evidence or argument. Examples may include drawings, photos, diagrams, video depictions, charts, graphs, and computer simulations.