Gatekeeping On The Record: The Fifth Circuit Requires That Daubert Inquiries Be Explained On The Record

Under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), district courts serve as gatekeepers for the admission of expert testimony. District courts often have wide discretion in this realm, sometimes holding Daubert hearings, sometimes not. So how, in light of this discretion and faced with a cold record, can a court of appeals determine whether a district court adequately performed its gatekeeping duties?

In Carlson v. Bioremedi Therapeutic Systems, Inc., the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that district courts must conduct a Daubert inquiry on the record and provide reasons for the admission of expert testimony, though they need not conduct a formal Daubert hearing. In so holding, the Fifth Circuit joined the First, Seventh, and Tenth Circuits in mandating that district courts perform on-the-record Daubert inquiries.