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Federal Judicial Center The results of 3 surveys (1 each of federal judges in 1991 and 1998 and another of attorneys in 1999) indicate that practices and beliefs concerning expert testimony have changed in the wake of the 1993 Supreme Court decision on admissibility in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Reporting both on their general experience with expert testimony and on their most recent civil trial involving such testimony, judges and attorneys indicated that judges were more likely in 1998 than in 1991 to scrutinize expert testimony before trial and then limit or exclude proffered testimony. The results describe common problems with expert testimony, the characteristics of trials in which expert testimony is introduced, and the types of experts who testify.

The idea that the media contribute to a cultural climate that is supportive of attitudes facilitating violence against women, diminishes concern for female victims (desensitization), and produces negative changes in women's views of themselves was investigated. Women viewed a film per day for 4 days from one of three categories: a) sexually explicit but nonviolent stimuli, b) sexually explicit, sexually violent stimuli, and c) mildly sexually explicit, graphically violent stimuli. They then served as jurors in a simulated rape trial. Exposure to both types of violent stimuli produced desensitization and ratings of the stimuli as less degrading to women. Women exposed to the mildly sexually explicit, graphically violent stimuli were less sensitive toward the victim in the rape trial than were other film subjects. However, no differences were obtained between the film groups and the no-exposure control group on women's views of themselves.

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