Peruzzi, Edoardo and CEVOLANI, Gustavo (2024) The gatekeeper’s dilemma: expert testimony, scientific knowledge and judicial reasoning. [Preprint]

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Abstract

We examine the relationship between scientific knowledge and the legal system with a focus on the exclusion of expert testimony from trial as ruled by the Daubert standard in the US.We introduce a simple framework to understand and assess the role of judges as “gatekeepers”, monitoring the admission of science in the courtroom. We show how judges face a crucial choice, namely, whether to limit Daubert assessment to the abstract reliability of the methods used by the expert witness or also to check whether the application of those methods was correct. Undesirable outcomes result from both choices, thereby giving rise to the “gatekeeper’s dilemma.” We illustrate the dilemma by analyzing in some detail two well-known cases of Daubert challenges to economic experts. Finally, we present reasons for the absence of straightforward solutions to the dilemma and for its likely endurance.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Peruzzi, Edoardo edoardoperuzzi96@gmail.com 0000-0002-9379-4019 CEVOLANI, Gustavo gustavo.cevolani@imtlucca.it 0000-0001-8770-8877
Keywords:	Expert Testimony; Daubert; Reliability; Scientific Expertise
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Economics Specific Sciences > Psychology > Judgment and Decision Making General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Science and Policy
Depositing User:	Mr. Edoardo Peruzzi
Date Deposited:	18 Mar 2024 23:25
Last Modified:	18 Mar 2024 23:25
Item ID:	23206
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Economics Specific Sciences > Psychology > Judgment and Decision Making General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Science and Policy
Date:	March 2024
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/23206

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