|
The Daubert Basics
In its 1993 Daubert v. Merrell Dow
opinion, the United States Supreme Court articulated a new set of criteria for
the admissibility of scientific expert testimony and in its 1999 Kumho Tire
v. Carmichael opinion, the Court extended Daubert's general
holding to include non-scientific expert testimony as well.
Most modern litigation relies upon the
testimony of experts and this testimony can play a dispositive role in business
litigation. Even after having lost on liability, lawyers are winning cases by using
newly available techniques, suggested by Daubert and Kumho Tire,
to exclude the expert testimony that links money damages to the act or omission
for which their client has been found liable. This site is provided as a
resource for business litigators who seek information on current admissibility
criteria for expert testimony or scientifically trained legal analysis of
particular admissibility questions.
The site contains legal/scientific analysis
of the cases, beginning with Daubert
v. Merrell Dow, discussing the Daubert Court's holding and explaining the scientific principles
that the Court cites. That introduction links to a brief
discussion of Kumho
Tire v. Carmichael, the Court's 1999 extension of Daubert to
non-scientific testimony. In-depth discussions of Daubert applications
in securities litigation, antitrust and employment discrimination are contained
in their respective sections, as is an introduction to some of the statistical
and econometric issues that courts are now considering carefully in Daubert
hearings. All materials are provided for information purposes only, are not
intended as, and cannot be considered, legal advice.
All materials provided here are in the public
domain or are used by permission. Cases and secondary materials are prepared
carefully, but no representation is made that they are complete or accurate.
While all are welcome to browse, no one should ever take any action based upon
the information provided here, but should consult legal counsel for analysis of
legal issues. DaubertExpert provides services to attorneys only.
Daubert v. Merrell Dow
Kumho Tire v. Carmichael |
