Monday, May 11, 2009

Junk Science Checklist: Seven Factors Courts Must Consider in Michigan

In Michigan, trial courts are required to consider seven factors in assessing the admissibility of expert testimony:

1. Whether the opinion and its basis have been subjected to scientific
testing and replication.
2. Whether the opinion and its basis have been subjected to peer review
publication.
3. The existence and maintenance of generally accepted standards
governing the application and interpretation of a methodology or technique and
whether the opinion and its basis are consistent with those standards.
4. The known or potential error rate of the opinion and its basis.
5. The degree to which the opinion and its basis are generally accepted
within the relevant expert community.
6. Whether the basis for the opinion is reliable and whether experts in that
field would rely on the same basis to reach the type of opinion being proffered.
7. Whether the opinion or methodology is relied upon by experts outside
of the context of litigation.

MCL 600.2955(1). See also MRE 702.