The impact of Daubert and its progeny on the admissibility of behavioral and social science evidence

Although Daubert (1993) describes a test for admissibility that applies to all proffers of scientific evidence in the federal courts and many state co urts, its application has not been uniform across the sciences. To assess D aubert's impact for behavioral and social science evidence, the authors des cribe and analyze the application of a set of criteria that include whether Daubert has mattered, whether the context in which Daubert is applied shou ld matter, whether one can operationalize the application of the Daubert cr iteria to predict its outcome in specific cases, whether Daubert can assist in getting admissibility decisions right, and whether there are broader le ssons beyond admissibility to be learned from Daubert.