Thursday, April 22, 2004

New Decisions from Illinois and Virginia

We have new appellate decisions from Illinois (Frye hearing required for sexual dangerousness testimony based on actuarial instruments) and Virginia (upholding admissibility of testimony from sexual assault nurse examiner on causation of rape victim's injuries).
Fed. R. Evid. 702: If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.