Maryland High Court Adopts Daubert Standard for Expert Evidence

On August 28, 2020, Maryland joined the supermajority of states and the federal government in precluding “junk science” from corrupting the courtroom. Since 1978, Maryland had allowed expert testimony on the “generally accepted” methodology basis even if the expert’s conclusions are not. The federal government vacated this test in 1993, adopting a “reliability standard” instead. In replacing the “Frye” test with the “Daubert” standard, the Maryland Court emboldened judges to analyze expert testimony for reliability, which allowed judges to weigh considerations like peer reviews, methodology testing, error rates, whether the data supports the testimony, in addition to whether the methodology is generally accepted.