![]() This includes providing extensive factual materials to the witness and discussing the methodology used in arriving at opinions and what the scientific foundations are for the opinion. It is most critical that the witness be properly prepared. It is necessary to consider this at the start of the case and also to make changes whenever new issues come into focus. ![]() The Florida practitioner will experience more frequent and substantive challenges to offers of expert opinions than under the former expert witness rules. The witness must use understandable language, not technical jargon, to explain the facts on which he/she relied and the methodology used. The expert must articulate his or her reasoning to the trial court to be allowed to testify about the opinion to the jury. Daubert and its progeny, as well as the orders of Florida trial courts cited here, illustrate how the courts are to focus on the testimony and on the chain of logic it embodies, not just on the credentials of the proffered expert. The focus of a hearing on a motion in limine will necessarily be less on the qualifications of the expert and more on the testimony of the expert. Bell South Telecommunications, Inc., 138 So.3d 492 (Fla. No longer will pure opinion or ipse dixit expert testimony be admissible as the Florida courts had allowed under the Frye test. The Legislature expressed its intent to “prohibit in the courts of this state pure opinion testimony as provided in Marsh v. Subjective belief and unsupported speculation are henceforth inadmissible. However, “general acceptance in the scientific community” alone is no longer a sufficient basis for the admissibility of expert testimony. 1923) (the Frye test) can also have a bearing on the inquiry, as can error rates and whether the theory or technique has been subjected to peer review and publication. The judge must be a gatekeeper to exclude evidence which is unreliable and may confuse or mislead the jury.Ī key question to be answered in any Daubert inquiry is whether the proposed testimony qualifies as “scientific knowledge” as it is understood and applied in the field of science to aid the trier of fact with information that actually can be or has been tested within the scientific method. The legislature specifically intends for trial judges to apply to all expert testimony principles which are in conformity with Daubert and Kumho Tire. The Daubert test applies not only to “new or novel” scientific evidence, but to all other expert opinion testimony. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. In 2013, the Florida Legislature amended Section 90.702 of the Florida Evidence Code to adopt the standards for expert testimony as provided in Daubert v. This article will present the second part of a basic review of Florida’s new rules governing the admissibility of expert testimony as well as give some examples of the application of the rules and offer some practice pointers.ĪMENDMENT TO SECTION 90.702, FLORIDA STATUTES in FloridaĮxamples from orders on motions in limine
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