Florida Senate - 2011                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 822
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 523586                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  03/09/2011           .                                
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Bogdanoff) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5  
    6         Section 1. Section 90.702, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    7  read:
    8         90.702 Testimony by experts.—
    9         (1) If scientific, technical, or other specialized
   10  knowledge will assist the trier of fact in understanding the
   11  evidence or in determining a fact in issue, a witness qualified
   12  as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or
   13  education may testify about it in the form of an opinion, or
   14  otherwise, if:
   15         (a) The testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data;
   16         (b) The testimony is the product of reliable principles and
   17  methods; and
   18         (c) The witness has applied the principles and methods
   19  reliably to the facts of the case; however, the opinion is
   20  admissible only if it can be applied to evidence at trial.
   21         (2) The courts of this state shall interpret and apply the
   22  requirements of subsection (1) and s. 90.704 in accordance with
   23  Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579
   24  (1993); General Electric Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136 (1997); and
   25  Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999). Frye v.
   26  United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923) and subsequent
   27  Florida decisions applying or implementing Frye no longer apply
   28  to subsection (1) or s. 90.704.
   29         Section 2. Section 90.704, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   30  read:
   31         90.704 Basis of opinion testimony by experts.—The facts or
   32  data upon which an expert bases an opinion or inference may be
   33  those perceived by, or made known to, the expert at or before
   34  the trial. If the facts or data are of a type reasonably relied
   35  upon by experts in the subject to support the opinion expressed,
   36  the facts or data need not be admissible in evidence. Facts or
   37  data that are otherwise inadmissible in evidence may not be
   38  disclosed to the jury by the proponent of the opinion or
   39  inference unless the court determines that the probative value
   40  of the facts or data in assisting the jury to evaluate the
   41  expert’s opinion substantially outweighs the prejudicial effect
   42  of the facts or data.
   43         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.
   44  
   45  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   46  And the title is amended as follows:
   47  
   48         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   49  and insert:
   50                        A bill to be entitled                      
   51         An act relating to expert testimony; amending s.
   52         90.702, F.S.; providing that a witness qualified as an
   53         expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or
   54         education may testify in the form of an opinion as to
   55         the facts at issue in a case under certain
   56         circumstances; requiring the courts of this state to
   57         interpret and apply the principles of expert testimony
   58         in conformity with specified United States Supreme
   59         Court decisions; amending s. 90.704, F.S.; providing
   60         that facts or data that are otherwise inadmissible in
   61         evidence may not be disclosed to the jury by the
   62         proponent of the opinion or inference unless the court
   63         determines that the probative value of the facts or
   64         data in assisting the jury to evaluate the expert’s
   65         opinion substantially outweighs the prejudicial effect
   66         of the facts or data; providing an effective date.