Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence

Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence

Federal Judicial Center 1994

This Federal Judicial Center publication was undertaken in furtherance of the

Center’s statutory mission to develop and conduct education programs for judicial branch employees. The views expressed are those of the authors and not

necessarily those of the Federal Judicial Center.

v

Contents

Preface v

Introduction 1

I. Overview

Management of Expert Evidence

William W Schwarzer 7

Evidentiary Framework

Margaret A. Berger 37

II. Reference Guides

Comment on the Use of the Reference Guides 119

Reference Guide on Epidemiology

Linda A. Bailey, Leon Gordis, and Michael Green 121

Reference Guide on Toxicology

Bernard D. Goldstein and Mary Sue Henifin 181

Reference Guide on Survey Research

Shari Seidman Diamond 221

Reference Guide on Forensic DNA Evidence

Judith A. McKenna, Joe S. Cecil, and Pamela Coukos 273

Reference Guide on Statistics

David H. Kaye and David A. Freedman 331

Reference Guide on Multiple Regression

Daniel L. Rubinfeld 415

Reference Guide on Estimation of Economic Losses in Damages Awards

Robert E. Hall and Victoria A. Lazear 471

III. Extraordinary Procedures

Court-Appointed Experts

Joe S. Cecil and Thomas E. Willging 525

Special Masters

Margaret G. Farrell 575

List of Peer Reviewers 623

Index 629

vii

Preface

The Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence is the product of a cooperative

effort by the Federal Judicial Center and the Carnegie Corporation of New

York. The Center began its work on a manual to help federal judges deal with

scientific evidence in 1990, shortly after the Federal Courts Study Committee

recommended the preparation of such a manual. This work was done in furtherance of Center education programs on the subject; the purpose of the manual is to round out the Center’s education effort in the area of scientific evidence.

The Center received substantial encouragement from the Task Force on Judicial and Regulatory Decision Making of the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government. The interest of the Carnegie Corporation

in furthering judicial education in the area of scientific evidence led to the establishment by the Center of a comprehensive program to develop the manual

and produce related education programs. Funding by the Carnegie Corporation

enabled the Center to support distinguished outside authors to prepare the papers and to have these papers reviewed by experts in science and its use as evidence in litigation.

We are grateful for the encouragement and support by David A. Hamburg,

president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, William T. Golden and

Joshua Lederberg, co-chairs of the Carnegie Commission, and David Z. Robinson, executive director of the Carnegie Commission. We have benefited greatly

from the advice of Helene Kaplan, chair of the Task Force on Judicial and Regulatory Decision Making. Steven Gallagher and David Beckler also provided

valuable encouragement and assistance. We are especially grateful to the authors of the manual for their dedication, and to the many reviewers for their

thoughtful suggestions. We would like to thank the staff of the Center’s

Information Services Office, in particular Rozzie Bell for helping us locate

much source material. Finally, we have profited from the advice and assistance

of the following members of the Center’s Publications & Media Division:

Susanna Carey, Geoff Erwin, Amy Hollander, Martha Kendall, and Kris

Markarian.

Joe S. Cecil

Carol E. Drew

Marie Cordisco

Dean P. Miletich