Daubert V. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Case Study

Mainly in criminal act scene investigation, fingerprint machinery progressions have been responding to with arms open. The theory of biological exclusivity has been urbanized and substantiated by erudition and the judges have maintained this authenticity in the case of Daubert. Although the threat of inaccurate condemnation offers equally to ethical and feasible viewpoint on why dependable and legitimate forensic science is so significant, normal expert substantiation creed also dictates its legitimacy as a precondition for tolerability. Also in 1993 Daubert v. Merrell Dow made it unblemished that adjudicators have a gatekeeping answerability with admiration to expert substantiation. Federal courts as well as the states have comprised Daubert,

The case of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals which took place back in 1993 was a case where two children were born with birth defects and blamed the Merrell Dow Pharmaceutical Company saying its drug Bendectin caused the birth defects. The case played a major role in what was permitted in court as expert testimony. Merrell Dow had its own experts and research to say that its product never showed evidence of causing birth defects. But to challenge this, the parents had their own experts to say otherwise that in animal trials the drug did in fact cause birth defects. One of the things that helped the judges to determine their ruling was the Federal Rules of Evidence; this basically lays out what the scope of an expert

Across the United States it has been debated, for several years, which standard should be utilized in the court system: the Frye standard or the Daubert standard. It basically comes down to whether expert testimony should be presented in court based on wide acceptance or scientific proof. Both articles explained the Daubert standard as basically a stricter Frye standard, which could also be gathered from their definitions. It is due to the stricter and more outlined restrictions that the Daubert standard should be utilized in the Florida court system. The Daubert standard bases its criteria for expert testimony on proven scientific fact and reliability.

Even though there are many types of evidence, forensic is the most important. Forensic evidence is the physical evidence that is collected at the crime scene. It is the guns, fingerprints, body

However, many factors separate the criminology theories used by law enforcement and the reality of the many unique criminal cases. Forensic Evidence Forensics evidence is a scientific method used by law enforcement to collect such evidence as DNA, blood, hair, and even ballistics. Since 1948 the American Academy of Forensic Sciences has made this field professional (Lyman, 1998, 11). The members of AAFS include scholars from the fields of pathology, biology, toxicology, criminalistics, anthropology, and forensics odontology (Lyman, 1998, 11). There are many different fields of forensics evidence.

The most reliable type of forensic evidence is DNA, but it is still not perfect, and the results should be portrayed that way in court. The reason DNA evidence is so accurate is because it is highly objective. This objectivity makes it far less likely that an error will be made during the analysis of the DNA sample. However, errors are still possible. For example, samples may be switched or contaminated which could give a false result. There are two different kinds of DNA evidence, simple-mixture/single-source samples and complex-mixture samples. “The vast majority of DNA analysis currently involves samples from a single individual or from a simple mixture of two individuals (such as from a rape kit) . . . the

Evidence plays a major role usually in trail of a case. Several types of evidence can be used. Evidence can be divided into two categories – Testimonial evidence and Physical evidence. Physical evidence is one type of such evidence; this evidence can be brought to court room for observation during trails. This is the most important evidence. Physical evidence is also known as real evidence, they consist tangible article from tiny microscopic to macroscopic evidence from large building to molecules in air. It can be in solid, gas or liquid form. Advances in forensic science have increased the use of physical evidence

Challenges can come in many forms such as if no search warrant was obtained to support a search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment to the validity and reliability of scientific evidence and how it was collected and maintained. In such cases, the investigator and lab technicians are usually called in to testify and explain the authenticity and standards of the procedure before the evidence is submitted (Swanson, 2012). The expert must be prepared to answer questions according to the Frye or Daubert standard of the states accepted standards for admissibility of both scientific and testimony evidence (Nierenberg, 2016).

Evidence plays a vital role throughout criminal investigations. Typically, we think of evidence as things such as fingerprints, DNA, and fibers. However, evidence as evolved as the world of technology has expanded. Digital evidence also now plays just as much of an important role as traditional evidence. When beginning an investigation that involves digital evidence, it is important for the investigator to know what evidence to look for. Identification of evidence, collection including transportation of evidence and examination of evidence are the three main aspects of the process.

between a cut (an injury that is longer than deep) and a stab wound (an injury

Evidence is defined as any matter of fact, the effect, tendency, or design of which is to produce in the mind a persuasion, affirmative or disaffirmative, of the existence of some other matter of fact that a crime has been committed.(Paul B. Watson, 1986) In a legal sense, evidence is the information presented in court during a trial which enables the judge and jury to decide a particular case (Garland & Stuckey, 2000). There are two main types of evidence, which are testimony and physical items which can be presented to the judge and jury during a criminal trial. Physical evidence is any evidence found at the perpetrator’s

Forensics is the use of scientific tests conducted on evidence that is used to aid a criminal investigation. Forensics is so important because without it either the wrong person could go to prison or the police could not arrest anyone, leaving the criminal to remain at large. Forensics allows insight into multiple factors that help catch the criminal behind the crime. Factors like DNA and fingerprinting are the very first piece of evidence to be looked at in an investigation to catch the killer. If the forensic scientists mix something up or misses what they are trained to look for, then they can do a lot of harm to a case. Forensics provides that very important physical evidence that will help the police catch the killer and bring that needed closer for the loved ones of the victim.

Physical evidence/scientific examinations is the evidence found at the scene of the crime. This can include clothing, blood, fingerprints, weapons and much more. An example of physical evidence could be any listed above but also a bloody knife or a casing from a bullet.

Essential for understanding the acceptability of digital evidence is to understand two basic principles which are mentioned within the acceptability of digital evidence in courts. These are Daubert principle and Frye test. Daubert principle, as mentioned, replaced longtime used „Frye test“, and according to it, science and scientific methods are increasingly introduced as mandatory in expertise and presentation of digital evidence. American Rule 702, as part of the Federal Rules of Evidence, provides guidance on expert qualification and reduces the possibility of bias in expertise. Rule 702 of the American legislation is used as a preventive for possible speculations by experts, and which judge could use. In order to be properly informed and to be able to make decisions on the acceptability of digital evidence in court, and to understand expert witness testimony, the judges and the jury must own certain knowledge about information and communication technologies (ICTs) [1,2,3].

Forensic science borrows from a number of sciences which include: physics, Biology and chemistry. It therefore involves examination of a wide spectrum as compared to any other method of investigation. Due to the wide spectrum of investigation and evidence analysis the method offers; it ensures that the results are accurate and can be used in the court of law to make a decision. The method establishes the existence of a crime, the connection between the crimes and the