Judging Expert Testimony

From Verbal Formalism to Practical Advice

Autores/as

  • Susan Haack University of Miami

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Resumen

Appraising the worth of others’ testimony is always complex; appraising the worth of expert testimony is even harder; appraising the worth of expert testimony in a legal context is harder yet. Legal efforts to assess the reliability of expert testimony—I’ll focus on evolving U.S. law governing the admissibility of such testimony—seem far from adequate, offering little effective practical guidance. My purpose in this paper is to think through what might be done to offer courts more real, operational help. The first step is to explain why the legal formulae that have evolved over the years may seem reassuring, but aren’t really of much practical use. The next is to suggest that we might do better not by amending evidentiary rules but by helping judges and attorneys understand what questions they should ask about expert evidence. I focus here on (i) epidemiological testimony, and (ii) the process of peer review.

Palabras clave

evidence law, expert testimony, reliability, epidemiology, peer review, the Daubert-Joiner-Kumbo régime

Citas

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Cases and Statutes Cited
2013 Fla. Laws 107 (codified as Fla. Stat. § 90.702 (2018)). Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880 (1983). Berry v. City of Detroit, 25 F.3d 1342 (6th Cir. 1994). Blum v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 33 Phila. Cnty. Rep. 193 (1996). Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993). Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 43 F.3d 1311 (9th Cir. 1995). Delisle v. Crane Co., 258 So. 3d 1219 (2018). Ferguson v. Hubbell, 97 N.Y. 507, 514 (1884). Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923). Gen. Elec. Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136 (1997). In re: Amendments to the Florida Evidence Code, No.SC19-107 (Fla. May 23, 2019). Kaminski v. State, 63 So.2d 339 (1952). Kumho Tire v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999). Manko v. United States, 636 F. Supp. 1419 (W.D. Mo. 1986). N.Y. & Erie R.R. Co., 62 U.S. 88, 101 (1858). Ramirez v. State, 810 So. 2d 836 (Fla. 2001). United States v. Bonds, 12 F.3d 540 (6th Cir. 1993).

Biografía del autor/a

Susan Haack, University of Miami

Distinguished Professor in the Humanities, Cooper Senior Scholar in Arts and Sciences, Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Law at the University of Miami.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.33115/udg_bib/qf.i0.22312

Publicado

01-01-2020

Cómo citar

Haack, S. (2020). Judging Expert Testimony: From Verbal Formalism to Practical Advice. Quaestio Facti. Revista Internacional Sobre Razonamiento Probatorio, (1), 13–30. https://doi.org/10.33115/udg_bib/qf.i0.22312