Daubert Project: A Proposal for the Harvard Law School Judicial Gatekeeping Web Site

Introduction
With the success of the Daubert conferences this past year and with the increasing use of computer technology by judges in particular, it is prudent to now expand The Daubert Project into cyberspace. First, this expansion can allow us to follow up on the issues raised in the individual state conferences by creating state specific pages. Second, pages of general interest will focus on the broader issues raised in the conferences and allow a national dialogue to commence.

State-Specific Pages
The internet can be an effective break out point for discussions on issues raised in past conferences. The state conferences need not be the final word on the issues of judicial gatekeeping and scientific evidence, but instead, they can be the beginning of an ongoing dialogue. Through the internet, this website will be the focus of this dialogue. We propose to create individual pages for each state that hosted a conference. These pages will include:

1. State Information - We will post the individual papers containing the "state of the law" of judicial gatekeeping in the particular state. At the appropriate places in the papers where specific key cases are mentioned, links can instantly take the user to the full text of the case.

2. Multimedia Video and Audio - Where there have been recordings of the conference panels in action, these archived clips can be posted on the page to give others the benefit of being able to see and hear the panel discussions.

3. Transcripts - We can create transcripts from video of conferences that have been taped and allow the conversations to be searchable and indexed by legal issue (such as standards of review, role of epidemiologists, major cases).

4. Discussion Groups - Threaded discussions for attorneys, judges, and students can be started on each page. In addition, some survey research can be conducted as well.

5. Breaking News - The pages will be kept current and will contain the latest cases and new decisions as they develop.

General Interest Pages
These pages can serve as a general resource for Daubert law and a clearinghouse for related information. Some specific areas of information to be included on these pages are:

1. Links - A comprehensive compilation of all the related resources (both legal and scientific) the internet currently has to offer would make this site attractive and popular for research into Daubert and scientific evidentiary issues.

2. The Judicial Gatekeeping Book - The series of essays on specific Daubert issues will be posted on separate pages with links to important cases. This will create an easily searchable text.

3. Updates - Research Assistants will keep the website current and continuously track the major cases.

4. Deep Foundation - The website will also make public new theories and approaches about the nature of scientific evidence, such as Professor Nesson's Deep Foundation thesis.

5. Literature Review - A bibliography of Daubert related articles will be collected and posted on the site.

Conclusion
This is merely a first cut at the possibilities for the Daubert Project Website. The site will be a part of a larger community of law related and personal pages being put together at http://cyber.harvard.edu/. Once the basic structure is in place, the entire site is certain to gain momentum, and the Daubert Project will become a large part of Professor Nesson's vision of a legal education in cyberspace.