Novel Scientific Evidence and Judicial "Gatekeeping": R v Calder and Daubert v Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Compared

Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals: a new standard for scientific evidence in the courts?

The Supreme Court, in Daubert v. Merrell Dow explored the guidelines for admitting "scientific evidence" by way of expert opinion in legal cases. The Federal Rules of Evidence that were revised in 1975 did not explicitly mention the Frye standard and thus left it unclear as to what guidelines should be used by judges in federal courts. The Court held that the Frye rule was superseded by the new...

Congressional action to amend Federal Rule of Evidence 702: a mischievous attempt to codify Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

The weight of scientific evidence in policy and law.

The term "weight of evidence" (WOE) appears in regulatory rules and decisions. However, there has been little discussion about the meaning, variations of use, and epistemic significance of WOE for setting health and safety standards. This article gives an overview of the role of WOE in regulatory science, discusses alternative views about the methodology underlying the concept, and places WOE i...

The Effects of Daubert on the Admissibility of Expert Testimony in State and Federal Criminal Cases

Appellate opinions were evaluated on variables related to expert admissibility to assess the effects of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in criminal cases. Analysis reveals changes in appellate courts’ consideration of Frye v. United States, the 4 Daubert criteria, and several Federal Rules of Evidence. The importance of Frye and the general acceptance criterion decreased over time,...

Psychological evidence at the dawn of the law's scientific age.

The Supreme Court's 1993 decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., holding that the admissibility of scientific evidence depends on its scientific merit, has made American law receptive to valid science to an unprecedented degree. We review the implications for psychology of the law's taking science seriously. We consider the law before Daubert, and the ways that Daubert as well...