Phillips v. Industrial MacHine

I concur in the majority’s determination that the district court’s order granting a new trial should be affirmed. I write separately, however, because the time has come to reexamine our analytical framework for the evaluation of expert opinion testimony.

INTRODUCTION

Judge Learned Hand observed nearly a century ago that “[n]o one will deny that the law should in some way effectively use expert knowledge wherever it will aid in settling disputes. The only question is as to how it can do so best.” Learned Hand, Historical and Practical Considerations Regarding Expert Testimony, 15 Harv. L. Rev.…