In amending the Florida Evidence Code, the Legislature has bound Florida courts to the Daubert standard for the admission of expert testimony and opinions.
I’ve written on the changes to the Evidence Code before. Although the amendment became effective in 2013, the changes to the law are still so new, there are less than a handful of appellate decisions which have reviewed the amendments.
Are the Changes Even Constitutional?
Still up in the air are lingering Constitutional doubts. While the Legislature can enact substantive law, only the Supreme Court can regulate courtroom practice and procedure. The trick is that the Evidence Code contains both substantive and procedural provisions. If the Legislative branch encroached on the judicial branch, the changes are subject to a strict separation of powers doctrine review. However, the Florida Supreme Court denied certiorari to a case which specifically asked the high court to review the Constitutionality of the amendments. There is also fierce debate within the Florida Bar. The Board of Governors is required to vote on all procedural rule changes before those changes are submitted to the Florida Supreme Court. At the Board’s most recent meeting, the Committee voted 16-14 in support of rejecting the new Daubert standard. Then, at the Family Law Section special meeting last week, my own motion to adopt the Daubert standard was voted down. A webpage has been set up at www.floridabar.org/daubertfrye with background information on the matter and a link to a comment form for member input. The article is available on the Florida Bar Family Law Section website here. It also makes a great holiday read.