In its 1993 Daubert opinion, the United States Supreme Court abandoned Frye’s “general acceptance” requirement for admission of scientific evidence under Rule 702. In so doing, it extended the gatekeeping function of a trial court, tasking it with ensuring that an expert’s testimony is both reliable and relevant before admitting it to the jury. When considering the admissibility of scientific evidence under Rule 702, the court may consider whether the theory or technique has been tested, whether it has been subject to peer review or publication, any standards governing its application, and its level of acceptance in the scientific community.

As of last month, most states had adopted Daubert for purposes of their Rule 702 analogues. New Jersey was one of the few exceptions, until now. On Aug. 1, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued its opinion in In re Accutane Litigation, No. 079958, 2018 WL 3636867, noting that although New Jersey’s standard and the federal standard “moved in the same direction towards the same common goal,” the court had “never adopted Daubert or incorporated the factors identified in Daubert for use by our courts when performing the gatekeeper role.” Perceiving “little distinction” between Daubert’s principles regarding expert testimony and those of New Jersey courts, the court determined that Daubert’s “factors for assessing the reliability of expert testimony will aid our trial courts in their role as the gatekeeper of scientific expert testimony in civil cases.”