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The Supreme Court Tackles Scientific Evidence in the Courtroom

Jay A. Gold, MD, JD, MPH; Miles J. Zaremski, JD; Elaine Rappaport Lev, JD; Deborah H. Shefrin, JD

JAMA. 1993;270(24):2964-2967.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

ON JUNE 28, 1993, the US Supreme Court handed down a decision that, in the words of one commentator, "could affect almost every piece of litigation in the Federal courts from this point forward."¹ The decision in Daubert v Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals² sets forth criteria that federal courts must follow in admitting scientific evidence or excluding it from consideration by juries. While the decision will not apply directly to state courts, states are likely to look to the High Court for guidance. This article will analyze the decision and discuss its implications for medicine, medical publishing, and expert testimony.

THE CASE

The drug for morning sickness, Bendectin (doxylamine), was driven off the market in 1983 by the pressure of lawsuits asserting that it caused birth defects. Before Bendectin was taken off the market, millions of women had used it.³ Of 30 published epidemiologic studies involving over 130 . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the American College of Legal Medicine, Milwaukee, Wis (Dr Gold), and Arnstein & Lehr, Chicago III (Mr Zaremski and Mss Lev and Shefrin). Dr Gold is now with the Wisconsin Peer Review Organization, Madison, and the Department of Preventive Medicine and the Center for the Study of Bioethics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to WIPRO, 2909 Landmark PI, Madison, WI 53713 (Dr Gold).

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