ABSTRACT
The field of expert witnessing, evidence and testimony in forensic geoscience and geological engineering, in fact for all engineers and experts, has been altered drastically in the American federal court systems between 1993 and 1999 as a result of three prominent cases and decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court. Testimony, opinions, and evidence by all experts are subject to much greater scrutiny by the courts than previously, particularly by the trial judge. The trial judge now has been solely empowered as the gatekeeper to qualify experts and their evidence, and to determine whether the experts’ evidence is admissible to trial. It is no longer sufficient to be the well-educated scientist or engineer, even one with much and varied experience. The expert’s testimony/evidence must now meet greater and more intense inspection by the judge as to the scientist’s procedure of investigative methods, relevancy, reliability of results, specific knowledge and experience of the question before the bar (the case), and professional peer acceptability of the investigatory methods.
