Daubert standard

The Daubert standard is a U.S. rule for federal judges deciding whether expert testimony is admissible. It requires the testimony to be relevant and grounded in reliable methods applied reliably to the case.

Federal Rule of Evidence 702: The federal evidence rule governing the admissibility of expert testimony. It now states the admissibility requirements that Daubert interprets.
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: A 1993 U.S. Supreme Court case establishing a reliability-focused approach to scientific expert evidence. The decision supplied the standard’s name and its central admissibility framework.
Forensic science: The application of scientific methods to questions arising in legal investigations and proceedings. Courts use Daubert to scrutinize the methods behind forensic expert claims.
Daubert motion: A request that a court exclude expert testimony as inadmissible under the Daubert framework. This is the procedural tool commonly used to challenge an opposing expert.
General acceptance: The extent to which a method or theory is accepted by its relevant professional community. Daubert treats acceptance as one useful reliability factor, not the sole test.
Frye standard: A rule that generally admits scientific evidence only when its method is generally accepted in the relevant field. Daubert replaced this acceptance-centered test in federal courts.
DNA profiling: A method for identifying individuals by comparing variable regions of their DNA. Its statistical foundations and laboratory procedures can be examined under the reliability factors.
Frye hearing: A court proceeding to determine whether proposed scientific evidence is generally accepted in its field. It applies the older acceptance test rather than Daubert’s broader reliability inquiry.
Falsifiability: The capacity of a claim or theory to be tested in ways that could show it false. A method’s testability can help courts assess its scientific reliability.
Federal Rules of Evidence: Rules governing the admission and use of evidence in U.S. federal courts. The Supreme Court grounded Daubert’s approach in the evidence rules, especially Rule 702.

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