How to Manage Issues Relating to the Use of Trial Experts: Standards for the Introduction of Expert Testimony through Judicial “Gate-Keeping” and Scientific Verification

Abstract

This paper considers issues relating to the introduction of expert testimony in both civil and criminal cases in the American legal system. The paper reviews the Daubert Rule and the standards governing the admissibility of expert testimony in relation to the requirements of peer review and the use of a recognized “scientific method.” A number of federal cases will be considered which have attempted to refine and apply the Daubert Rule in a variety of factual circumstances where expert witnesses have been called on to offer their testimony and opinions at various stages of the legal process.