Neutral Science Panels: Two Examples of Panels of Court-Appointed Experts in the Breast Implants Product Liability Litigation.

摘要

In August 1996 the Judicial Conference of the United States agreed to fund from judiciary appropriations an experimental national science panel of independent experts. The Conference's Committee on Court Administration and Case Management was assigned oversight responsibility for this program. At its December 1996 meeting, the Court Administration and Case Management Committee asked the Federal Judicial Center to evaluate the use of this panel. This report describes these expert panels in sufficient detail to permit others to understand the procedures that were used, the benefits that resulted, and the problems that arose. The use of such panels of appointed experts represents a marked departure from the traditional means of presenting and considering expert testimony.