Abstract: The expert quandary is age-old. Over one hundred years ago, Judge Learned Hand astutely observed that “[n]o one will deny that the law should in some way effectively use expert knowledge wherever it will aid in settling disputes. The only question is as to how it can do so best.” With a number of factors and caveats worthy of articulation after the first decade of Daubert, we are left with the questions: Now, in the second decade of Daubert, where there is clearly room for improvement, what is the status of experts—perplexing or elucidating? And what is Daubert’s jurisprudential progeny?

Abstract: Civil jury trials have been declining for many years. If we continue on our current path with the steady reduction in the number of trials, along with the related consequences, our judicial system will continue to be dramatically reshaped—and we may not like the inevitable result. The phenomenon of the vanishing jury trial raises important policy issues that must be addressed, and addressed now.