On August 28, 2020, the Court of Appeals of Maryland adopted the
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509
U.S. 579 (1993) (Daubert) standard for admitting expert
testimony. See
Stanley Rochkind v. Starlena Stevenson, No. 47,
September Term 2019 (Md. Ct. App. August 28, 2020). In the
four-three majority opinion written by Judge Joseph M. Getty, the
Court of Appeals held that Maryland will now "implement a
single standard by which courts evaluate all expert testimony:
Daubert."
Maryland previously applied a Frye-Reed
standard for admitting expert testimony, which required the expert
opinion to be generally accepted as reliable in the scientific
community. The court acknowledged that the
Frye-Reed standard often was confusing in
application, muddied by duplicative analyses under Maryland Rule
5-702, and drifting toward several Daubert factors. In
joining the "supermajority" of states adopting
Daubert, Maryland courts will now analyze the reliability
of the
