"Quackspertise"

Thanks to Robert J. Ambrogi for giving me the heads-up in the Legal Blog Watch about this article on 'junk science' and state courts. This past Saturday, the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by David Bernstein, a professor at George Mason University School of Law and prolific writer on issues surrounding expert evidence.

Bernstein has (with WSJ permission) reprinted the piece, "Rule of Law Quackspertise" at The Volokh Conspiracy in which he encourages state courts to use the tools provided by the federal rulings (such as Daubert) to "ban junk science and quackspertise." He refers to a recent New York case to support his contention that, "despite far-reaching reforms, junk science still plagues American courtrooms."

With several changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence currently in progress, I found it worthwhile to spend a few minutes perusing his article and especially the feedback left by other attorneys in response to this piece.