Source: http://www.palmbeachbar.org/daubert-and-frye-where-does-florida-stand/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 22:06:00+00:00

Document:
Palm Beach County Bar Association – Daubert and Frye – Where Does Florida Stand?
Daubert and Frye – Where Does Florida Stand?
This is not the first time this writer has commented upon cases involving judicial review of expert testimony and the applicable test in Florida. Revisiting that issue is appropriate in light of the emergence of Vioxx and similar litigation, which will undoubtedly test the qualifications of experts in various areas. The Supreme Court of Florida analyzed the responsibility of the Court in conducting a hearing challenging an expert’s ability to testify in scientific matters in the case of Castillo v. E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co., 854 So. 2d 1264 (Fla. 2003).
That case was brought against the manufacturer of Benlate by the mother of a child born with severely underdeveloped eyes. The mother was in the vicinity of a farm and was soaked with a sprayed substance in her 7th week of her pregnancy. The evidence indicated that that substance was in all probability Benlate, an agricultural fungicide manufactured by DuPont.
After a multi-million verdict against DuPont, the Third District reversed primarily on the basis of error in the admission of the scientific evidence presented by the Plaintiff. The Supreme Court reversed the Third District and reinstated the verdict objecting to the analysis of the District Court under Frye v. United States, 293 F.1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923).
The testimony in question related to the conclusion of the plaintiff’s expert based upon animal studies, in-vitro tests and differential diagnosis with respect to the cause of the birth defect. The District Court had reversed based in part on both the underlying science of the expert testimony and on the expert’s ultimate conclusion. The Supreme Court found this to be error.
The Supreme Court explained that Frye, supra, on which Florida Courts rely, requires only that scientific principals underlying the evidence from which the expert’s conclusion is reached are based upon methods generally accepted in the scientific community. See Hadden v. State, 690 So. 2d 573, 576 (Fla. 1997). The question of whether that test has been satisfied is determined by a de novo review of the appellate court. That de novo review examines the expert testimony presented, scientific and legal writings available to the appellate court and any prior judicial opinions. See Flanagan v. State, 586 So. 2d 1085, 1112 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991) approved 625 So.2d 827 (Fla. 1993).
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993) is a United States Supreme Court opinion, which Florida does not follow. That opinion interpreted a Federal Rule of Evidence and not the United States Constitution and is, therefore, not binding upon Florida Courts. Daubert went beyond Frye and required that a Court assess not only the evidence used by the expert in coming to the expert’s conclusion but the validity of the conclusion itself.
expert’s raw data in reaching his or her conclusion.
in reaching the expert’s ultimate conclusion.
562 n. 9 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998) (quoting Hines v.
19 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001) (citing Berry, 709 So. 2d at 571)).
The application of Frye, supra, and Daubert, supra, have probably utilized more Court time than any other legal test. In Florida, Frye and not Daubert applies. If an expert’s opinion is based upon evidence which is generally accepted in the scientific community, the conclusion reached therefrom is not preliminarily tested by judicial review in Florida and is up to the jury to evaluate.

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