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Full-Text Articles in Law
Between "Merit Inquiry" And "Rigorous Analysis": Using Daubert To Navigate The Gray Areas Of Federal Class Action Certification, Elizabeth C. Burch
Between "Merit Inquiry" And "Rigorous Analysis": Using Daubert To Navigate The Gray Areas Of Federal Class Action Certification, Elizabeth C. Burch
Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
In recent years, the class action certification hearing has become the latest forum for disputes over the reliability of expert testimony. Since these hearings may involve complex technical matters, litigants frequently try to introduce expert testimony to either establish or challenge the basic requirements for class certification. Yet, most courts do not conduct a Daubert analysis before admitting expert testimony during certification, evaluate the evidence according to a uniform standard, or adequately weigh opposing expert opinions. Even though the Federal Rules of Evidence codify procedures to ensure the reliability of expert testimony, courts have been reluctant to employ them during …
The Uses Of History In Crawford V. Washington, Frank Herrmann
The Uses Of History In Crawford V. Washington, Frank Herrmann
Frank R. Herrmann, S.J.
To a striking degree, both the majority and concurring opinions in Crawford v. Washington are replete with references to Anglo-American historical materials, used to support differing conclusions about the application of the Confrontation Clause to testimonial hearsay. This essay sets out Justice Scalia's and Chief Justice Rehnquist's historical arguments and then employs the standards of legal historians to evaluate whether the two opinions use history in a valid manner. The essay concludes that the "history" in Crawford is not that of an historian, but is a "usable past," as conceived by Cass Sunstein and Stephen Griffin.