Yet again, from Judge Paul Byron (M.D. Fla.) in Grayson v. No Labels, Inc., decided last week, this one rejecting an expert proposed by the defense (for two other opinions in the same case, about experts proposed by the plaintiff, see this post and this post):
Plaintiff Alan Grayson contends in his Second Amended Complaint that Defendants, acting through Progress Tomorrow, published false and defamatory statements which damaged him "personally, professionally, and ultimately politically." The allegedly defamatory statements fall into three categories: (1) citation to a Congressional Ethics Investigation finding candidate Grayson had "Abused His Office for Financial Gain," including by using "taxpayer resources to conduct his high-risk investor scheme;" (2) images of Grayson's passport photograph with dollar signs replacing his eyes, an attaché case containing $150,000, and images implying he flew to the Cayman Islands to launder the money; (3) statements relating to accusations made by Grayson's ex-wife in connection with their divorce proceedings, during which she accuses him of spousal abuse… Defendants retained Melanie Sloan to offer opinions as an expert in "congressional ethics." …
Federal Rule of Evidence 702 permits "[a] witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education" to testify in the form of an opinion. In Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc. (1993), the Supreme Court explained that Rule 702 imposes an obligation on a trial court to act as a gatekeeper to ensure that any and all scientific [or otherwise specialized] testimony or evidence admitted is not only relevant, but reliable. District courts are charged with this gatekeeping function "to ensure that speculative, unreliable expert testimony does not reach the jury" under the mantle of reliability that accompanies "expert testimony." Thus, the party offering an expert opinion has the burden of establishing three criteria: qualification, reliability, and helpfulness….
Ms. Sloan's opinion concerns how a complaint against a member of Congress is reviewed by the United States House of Representatives' Office of Congressional Ethics ("OCE"), the composition of the OCE, the two phases of review by the OCE, and possible referral to the House Committee on Ethics. Ms. Sloan's report also sets forth her opinion that it is "commonly known that the House ethics committee rarely takes any action against members of Congress, [hence] the Washington political establishment and press corps regard and rely upon OCE reports as tantamount to an official finding that a member of Congress engaged in misconduct." …
Qualifications
