Tuesday, December 21, 2004

6th Circuit Upholds School District's IDEA Testimony

In an IDEA case brought by the family of an autistic student, the Sixth Circuit has upheld the lower court's ruling, in a nonjury trial, admitting the testimony of the school district's expert witnesses, including a nationally recognized authority on IDEA compliance. The opinion says Daubert is "largely irrelevant in the context of a bench trial," and adds that the Court of Appeals "is not in the business of dictating to district courts the amount of weight they must give to certain expert opinions." See Deal v. Hamilton County Bd. of Educ., No. 03-5396 (6th Cir. Dec. 16, 2004) (Moore, Cole, & Marbley, JJ.).

posted by pn at 1:10 AM  

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

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.