You Can Establish Reasonable Doubt Even With Imperfect Research Methodology
If you ask people who have burned out of careers in academia what made them leave the career that was once their passion, the ones whose job duties consistently mostly of teaching will say that it was because, as time went on, their students devoted more and more time to cheating and complaining and less and less time to learning. The ones in STEM fields whose job duties involved research will say that they got discouraged by the poor quality of work they saw in their research labs. A group of eighth graders conducting an experiment by following instructions in PowerPoint presentation form would do a better job of getting accurate results and explaining why they did or did not get the results they expected. Researchers exaggerate, spin, or outright falsify the results of previous studies in order to get funding for new ones; at its worst, science is a victim of the clickbait economy. At its best, science aspires to a level of precision that is virtually unattainable in the real world and is honest about where it falls short. In other words, there is wide variation in quality among the experiments that form the bases of articles published in scientific journals, and the best ones are admissible as evidence in criminal court, in the form of expert witness testimony. To find out more about the scientific rigor required of expert witness testimony in Florida, contact a Tampa criminal defense lawyer.
When Expert Witnesses Are Honest Enough to Admit How Much They Don’t Know
Florida, like most states, follows the Daubert standard for determining the admissibility of expert witnesses in civil and criminal cases. The courts must apply this standard when an expert witness testifying about medical or scientific matters wishes to base his or her claims on published research. The Daubert standard was meant to give lawyers more flexibility to allow experts to base their testimony on scientific theories and research topics that had not yet gained widespread acceptance in their fields. Therefore, the standard is no longer whether the expert is saying something with which all experts agree, but whether the research is presented well enough that judges can make a fair judgment about it for themselves.
The studies cited by expert witnesses must describe their study methodology in detail, including the rate of error in the study. Judges must review a draft of the intended testimony and may read the studies on which the witness plans to rely before deciding whether the jury can hear it. In other words, judges can choose to let juries hear expert witness testimony about a study that leaves some questions unanswered. This may be enough to establish reasonable doubt about your guilt.
Contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Bryant Scriven
A criminal defense lawyer can help you expert witness testimony that relies on published studies from scientific journals to build your defense. Contact Scriven Law in Tampa, Florida to schedule a consultation.
Source:
expertinstitute.com/resources/insights/florida-supreme-court-reverses-prior-ruling-adopting-daubert-as-expert-admissibility-standard/
