From the 'Lectric Law Library's Stacks Search The Library Since
the early part of this century, the federal courts have
attempted to limit the uncertainty surrounding novel scientific
evidence by establishing an evidentiary standard of reliability
for scientific proof. Frye v. U.S., 293 F. 1013 (D.C.Cir.'23),
provided the standard that governed the introduction of expert
evidence for more than half a century. The courts have also
embraced procedures, including various forms of discovery
providing for mandatory disclosure of witnesses "who may be used
at trial to present evidence under Rules 702, 703, or 705," and
requiring submission of written reports by expert witnesses,
which give the parties and the courts greater opportunities to
test the reliability of novel expert testimony. The standard of
reliability for expert testimony and the applicable procedures
in federal courts in the years proceeding the landmark 1993
Daubert case had undergone significant change. As Judge Learned
Hand in "Historical and Prac