Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

Daubert test

A method that federal district courts use to determine whether expert testimony is admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, which generally requires that expert testimony consist of scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge that will assist the fact-finder in understanding the evidence or determining a fact in issue. 0 In its role as "gatekeeper" of the evidence, the trial court must decide whether the proposed expert testimony meets the requirements of relevance and reliability. The court applies the test outside the jury's presence, usu. during a pretrial Daubert hearing. At the hearing, the proponent must show that the expert's underlying reasoning or methodology, and its application to the facts, are scientifically valid. In ruling on admissibility, the court considers a flexible list of factors including (1) whether the theory can be or has been tested, (2) whether the theory has been subjected to peer review or publication, (3) the theory's known or potential rate of error and whether there are standards that control its operation, and (4) the degree to which the relevant scientific community has accepted the theory. Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786 (1993). The Supreme Court has held that similar scrutiny must be applied to nonscientific expert testimony. Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 119 S.Ct. 1167 (1999). State-law variations of the Daubert test are applied in the trial courts of most states. See scientific knowledge under KNOWLEDGE.