The Daubert Hearing: From all the Critical Perspectives

Friday, March 2, 2012

Download a copy of the hypothetical that will be used during the symposium.

Watch the recorded broadcast of the symposium.

Pretrial practice has long been the center of gravity in modern litigation. The vast majority of cases never go to trial. Instead, after pretrial discovery and in limine motions, the cases settle. The Supreme Court's celebrated 1993 decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, has solidified that trend. In Daubert, the Court abandoned the traditional general acceptance standard for the admissibility of scientific testimony and announced a new empirical validation test. Throughout the country counsel began basing pretrial in limine motions on Daubert to target opposition expert testimony. In criminal cases, defense counsel started challenging the prosecution's forensic evidence identifying the accused as the perpetrator. In civil tort cases, defense counsel filed motions attacking the plaintiff's evidence on general causation. When counsel won these motions, the opposition lacked sufficient evidence to go to trial. The hearing on the pretrial Daubert motion became the centerpiece of the litigation.

This symposium will begin with a demonstration Daubert hearing. After the demonstration, all the participants will deliver remarks, giving their perspective on the law and tactics of Daubert hearings. ;In addition, there will be expert academic commentary by Professor David Faigman of U.C. Hastings School of Law, the lead author of the popular treatise, MODERN SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE.

his is a unique opportunity for attorneys, judges, and the experts who work with them to learn how to better use, present and evaluate scientific evidence.

Participants

Judge James Rosenbaum, a former federal District Court judge in Minnesota who has lectured widely on the subject of expert testimony

Mr. Bert Black from Minnesota, a leading plaintiff's attorney who coauthored one of the leading articles on Daubert in Texas Law Review

Mr. Robert Smith, a veteran defense attorney from Maryland who specializes in cases involving expert testimony

Dr. William Toscano, Professor and Division Head of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota

Dr. Sander Greenland, Professor of Epidemiology at UCLA and Statistics at UCLA

Moderator: Professor Edward Imwinkelried of UC Davis School of Law, the coauthor of SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

Symposium Faculty Advisor

Professor Edward Imwinkelried
UC Davis School of Law

Principal Staff

Camille Barr
Senior Symposium Editor
UC Davis Law Review, Vol. 45

Kerry Kassam
Senior Symposium Editor
UC Davis Law Review, Vol. 45