State v. McGrady

Summary

The Supreme Court of North Carolina held that the 2011 amendment to North Carolina Rule of Evidence 702(a) incorporated the federal Daubert standard, including the principles from Daubert, Joiner, and Kumho Tire. The Court affirmed the defendant’s first-degree murder conviction and concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by excluding proposed expert testimony concerning the use of force and self-defense.

Holdings

1. The 2011 amendment to North Carolina Rule of Evidence 702(a) incorporated the federal Daubert standard, including the principles articulated in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., General Electric Co. v. Joiner, and Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael.
2. Expert testimony is admissible under amended Rule 702(a) only if it satisfies the requirements of qualification, relevance, and reliability; the reliability inquiry requires consideration of whether the testimony is based on sufficient facts or data, is the product of reliable principles and methods, and applies those principles and methods reliably to the facts.
3. A trial court's decision to admit or exclude expert testimony under Rule 702(a) is reviewed for abuse of discretion.
4. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by excluding all of Cloutier's proposed expert testimony under Rule 702(a).

Questions Presented

1. Whether the 2011 amendment to North Carolina Rule of Evidence 702(a), which added requirements concerning sufficient facts or data and reliable principles, methods, and application, incorporated the federal Daubert standard and its related decisions.
2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by excluding all of defendant's proposed expert testimony concerning use-of-force variables, sympathetic nervous system responses, and reaction times.

Disposition

affirmed