Perkins Coie Denver Partner David Black Authors Engineering Guide in Judges' Scientific Evidence Manual

DENVER (October 4, 2011) – The National Research Council released the third edition of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence on September 28, 2011. Perkins Coie Denver partner David L. Black is one of two practicing attorneys chosen as an author for this prestigious manual and is a co-author for the “Reference Guide on Engineering.” It has been over 10 years since the previous edition of the Manual was released.

The purpose of the Manual is to assist judges with the management of cases involving complex scientific and technical evidence. It was originally developed by the Federal Judicial Center as an aid to help federal judges to perform their gate keeping duties related to the admission or exclusion of scientific evidence at trial. This edition was developed as a joint scientific-legal effort between the nation's leading scientists acting through the National Academies of Science and the Federal Judicial Center, the educational arm of the federal judges, which produced the previous editions. Unlike the first two editions, this edition was rigorously peer-reviewed in accordance with the procedures of the National Research Council.

The Manual is organized into 13 sections on scientific principles and methods in areas of science which form the basis for much of the expert evidence sought to be introduced in complex litigation today. The Engineering Guide is particularly important because engineering evidence is offered in many of today's most significant cases, including products liability, patent infringement and environmental matters. The Engineering Guide provides an overview of the basic principles and methods of engineering, including sections on the product design process, product safety and relative risk. One of its goals is to acquaint judges with how engineers think and reason so that judges can more easily determine which proffered engineering evidence is relevant and reliable to issues in cases before the court.