Sometimes a trial depends on the testimony of an expert, someone who is held to have knowledge of a specialized kind within a particular field or of a particular concept. The average person is prohibited by the evidence rules (in Florida, at least) from testifying to such specialized items, as they are generally beyond the range of what an average layperson may know from common experience. But how do you determine if a person qualifies as an expert? What standard(s) are used, and who makes the decision? That is the subject of a current debate in the Florida legal community.
At the time of this post, the standard used for experts under the Florida Evidence Code comes from a case called Frye v. United States, 293 F.2d 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923), which provided that scientific evidence must be generally accepted in its field to be admissible. The Florida Supreme Court officially adopted this standard (known as the Frye standard) in Bundy v. State, 471 So. 2d 9 (Fla. 1985).
However, the Florida Legislature adopted an amendment to the Florida Evidence Code in 2013 to change the applicable standard. This newer standard comes from a case called Daubert v. Merrill Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), whereby the admissibility of expert testimony is based upon its reliability, rather than its acceptance in a particular field.
The Legislature’s adoption of this Daubert standard, however, does not make it final. Because the adopted proposal concerns a rule of evidence (thus, a rule used by courts-of-law in the State), the Florida Supreme Court has the final say, and can choose to keep the Frye standard if it chooses. The only question is: which standard provides a better and accurate way to admit expert testimony? Does focusing on reliability of the evidence better than the general acceptance of that evidence? Or is it the other way around?
This will be something that the Florida legal community will be sorting out in the near future, though it will be the Florida Supreme Court that ultimately decides whether it will overturn Bundy and turn to the newer standard.
