435.pdf

Type: pdf
Source set: house-oversight-doj
Pages: 11
Text status: Searchable text available
OCR confidence: 0.9384394605941587

Extracted text

Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 435 Filed 11/11/21 Page1ofii USDC SDNY DOCUMENT ELECTRONICALLY FILED UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DOC #: DATE FILED: 11/11/21 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK United States of America, 20-CR-330 (AJN) OPINION & ORDER Ghislaine Maxwell, Defendant. ALISON J. NATHAN, District Judge: Before the Court is the Defense’s motion to exclude the Government’s expert witness, Dr. Lisa Rocchio, pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and the standard in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993). Dkt. No. 386. The Government filed a response brief, Dkt. No. 397, and Defendant filed a reply, Dkt. No. 398. The Court conducted a Daubert hearing on November 10, 2021, at which both parties examined Dr. Rocchio. DKt. No. 431. The Court stated its oral opinion at that hearing that it would deny and grant in part Defendant’s motion, to be followed by this opinion. I. Legal standard Federal Rule of Evidence 702 governs the admissibility of expert testimony. That rule states: A witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise if: (a) the expert’s scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue; 1 DOJ-OGR- 00006342

Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 435 Filed 11/11/21 Page2ofi1 (b) the testimony is based on sufficient facts or data; (c) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods; and (d) the expert has reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the case. The Court exercises a “gatekeeper function” in assessing the admissibility of expert testimony. Restivo v. Hessemann, 846 F.3d 547, 575 (2d Cir. 2017). To determine whether an expert’s method is reliable, the Court considers the non-exhaustive list provided by the Supreme Court in Daubert, including whether the expert’s method has been tested, whether it has be…

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