Jim,

I hear what you guys are saying, and I know you use 921 as a guide in your profession. I just want you to realize that courts transform "guidelines" into "standards" with regularity. Some have more force than others; a violation of an OSHA standard can give rise to strict liability, for example.

I'm a little sensitive on this subject because of handling a very important case recently where the opposing expert rendered an opinion he said conformed to 921 and my experts proved it didn't. The opposition expert survived a Daubert hearing (for the reasons I put forth in my original post) and, if the case ever goes to trial, it will be a swearing match between experts.

There's probably too much "art" involved to boil it down to a single phrase; I think that's why the wording can get cumbersome.

My purpose is simply to make sure you know that, on my side of the fence, a "guide" used by an expert witness is usually a "standard."

As always,

Jim.