Daubert Standard -

Hawaii

Hawaii does not require courts to follow the Daubert test, but instead uses it as part of a larger analysis for expert witness testimony. In re Doe, 981 P.2d 723 (Haw. Ct. App. 1999). Main test for admissibility is a two-part analysis: 1) the court has to ensure that the expert’s testimony “will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or determine a fact in issue.” Id. 2) “any inferences or opinions must be the product of an explicable and reliable system of analysis.” The Court must ensure that expert testimony is “(1) relevant and (2) reliable.” Id. Daubert test is used to help analyze the relevance and reliability of expert testimony, but its factors are not binding in Hawaii. Id. Courts here should consider whether the expert’s testimony has been tested, “subjected to peer review and publication,” the “rate of error,” and whether it has been generally accepted in the “relevant scientific community.” Id.