Gatekeeping (Daubert)
Definition
The duty of a US federal trial judge under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and the Daubert line of cases to assess the reliability and relevance of expert testimony before it reaches the jury. The judge acts as a preliminary filter, not the ultimate arbiter of the expert's conclusion.
- Authority
- Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and the Daubert line of cases
- Who performs it
- The US federal trial judge
- Scope
- Reliability and relevance, not the truth of the conclusion
Common questions
What is the judge actually deciding under the gatekeeping duty?+
The judge assesses whether the expert's methodology is reliable and whether the testimony would help the jury, looking at factors such as testability, error rate, peer review, and acceptance in the field, rather than deciding whether the expert's specific conclusion in the case is correct.
Does gatekeeping mean the judge substitutes their judgment for the jury's on the facts?+
No, the judge only filters out testimony that fails the reliability threshold before it reaches the jury; once testimony is admitted, weighing its persuasiveness against opposing evidence remains the jury's job through cross-examination and competing experts.
How does gatekeeping under Daubert differ from the older Frye approach?+
Frye asked only whether a technique was generally accepted in its field, while Daubert gatekeeping asks the judge to evaluate the underlying reasoning and methodology directly, using acceptance as just one of several factors rather than the sole test.
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