Florida Adopts Daubert Standard for Expert Testimony

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The Florida legislature has adopted the Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993) evidentiary standard for expert testimony to replace the Frye “generally accepted” test and the pure opinion exception that has previously governed the admissibility of expert testimony in Florida.

Under the Daubert test there are five criteria for evaluating the reliability of expert testimony: (1) whether the methods on which the testimony is based have been tested; (2) the known or potential rate of error associated with the testing; (3) whether the method has been subject to peer review; (4) whether the method is generally accepted in the relevant scientific community; and (5) whether standards exist for the use of the method and whether the expert has followed those standards.

The Daubert standard has been applied by the federal courts since 1993 and has been adopted in several other states so there is a large amount of case law out there interpreting it. We will have to see how Florida’s Courts apply the standard going forwards to see the practical consequences of the change.