Legislative News, June 3, 2008

LEGISLATIVE NEWS
2008 Regular Session . June 3, 2008

Daubert Bill to Be Heard in House Civil Law Monday, June 9
SB 308 by Sen. Jack Donahue is another piece of the U.S. Chamber’s attack agenda on Louisiana’s judges and judicial system. The bill gives any party the right to invoke a mandatory pre-trial Daubert hearing on any expert anticipated as a witness at trial.

The bill will be the only item on the agenda of Civil Law and Procedure Committee when it meets at 11:00 a.m. Monday, June 9. The bill was amended to address concerns of the District Judges Association, but remains a problem for lawyers. For example, the court has no discretion to refuse to hold a pre-trial Daubert hearing, even though the expert is one who has been qualified previously in that same court on the same methodology.|

The bill applies to all pending cases not yet set for trial.

Contact members of the committee and express your concerns about this bill. They will definitely be hearing from the proponents.


Session in the Final Stretch
The Legislature is less than three weeks from adjournment. The session must adjourn no later than 6:00 p.m. Monday, June 23. Friday, June 20, at 6:00 p.m. is the deadline to vote for final passage of a bill in the second chamber. The final three days of the session will be devoted to conference committee reports and resolutions.


Stay in Touch
Did you know that you can listen to live broadcasts of floor proceedings and some committee hearings?  Go to the Web portal of the Louisiana State Legislature to see which proceedings are broadcast and get instructions on how to tune in.  Use this same link to contact your legislators, access information about bills, check committee schedules and more.Archived broadcasts of House and Senate proceedings are available on their respective Web sites.