By Lee Mickus (December 19, 2024, 1:58 PM EST) — It’s been a year since amended Rule 702 of the Federal Rule of Evidence went into effect, which clarified federal judges’ responsibility for serving as gatekeepers to determine the admissibility of expert evidence and keep junk science out of their courtrooms based on the preponderance […]
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Amended Federal Rule of Evidence 702 became effective on December 1,2023 after years of consideration and debate. The Advisory Committee’sinternal research, as well as information conveyed in written comments andpublic hearings, established that changes were needed because federal judgeswere not uniformly following the preponderance standard at the root of thejudicial gatekeeping requirement. Additionally, some courts […]
By Lee Mickus, a partner in the Denver, CO office of Evans Fears & Schuttert LLP. On December 1, 2023, amended Federal Rule of Evidence 702 became effective. The Advisory Committee’s Note declares that the amendments were put into place to “clarify and emphasize” the applicable burden of proof and the admissibility criteria, and not […]
By Lee Mickus, a partner in the Denver, CO office of Evans Fears & Schuttert LLP. Federal class actions brought against distributors of food and consumer products often depend on survey results to achieve class certification, yet some courts fail to recognize that such evidence must meet the requirements of Federal Rule of Evidence 702. A […]
By Lee Mickus, a partner with Evans Fears & Schuttert LLP in the firm’s Denver, CO office, and Abigail Dodd, a Senior Legal Counsel in Shell Oil Company’s Litigation Group. INTRODUCTION “Daubert motion” has become de rigeur slang among federal practitioners when referring to a motion to exclude an expert witness. Courts also frequently use that nomenclature, making statements such […]
By Lee Mickus, a partner in the Denver, CO office of Evans Fears & Schuttert LLP, and Alexander G. Mickus, a J.D. Candidate at the University of Iowa College of Law. The Texas legislature and courts have long sought to prevent plaintiffs in personal injury cases from exploiting medical expense damages to produce windfall recoveries. With the […]
By Lee Mickus, a Partner in the Denver, CO office of Evans Fears & Schuttert LLP. Executive Summary Laws in three-quarters of U.S. states and the District of Columbia prohibit or severely restrict defendants in motor-vehicle accident jury trials from introducing evidence that injured drivers or passengers had not buckled their seatbelt. For more than three […]