The state of Utah does not follow the Daubert or Frye for the admissibility of expert witness testimony, but instead follows the Rimmasch test. Haupt v. Heaps, 131 P.3d 252 (Utah Ct. App. 2005). The Rimmasch test focuses on the reliability of the expert’s testimony, particularly in cases where the expert utilized “novel scientific principles or techniques” to reach its conclusions. Id. The Rimmasch test has been embodied by Utah’s Rule of Evidence, Rule 702, which stands as the overarching rule for the admissibility of expert witness testimony. State v. Sheehan, 273 P.3d 417 (Utah Ct. App. 2012). Utah’s rule of evidence states that testimony is admissible if there is a “threshold showing that the principles or methods that are underlying the testimony (1) are reliable, (2) are based upon sufficient facts or data, and (3) have been reliably applied to the facts.” UTAH R. EVID. 702 (2017). The portion of the rule that embodies the Rimmasch test is (c), and states that the “threshold showing … is satisfied if the underlying principles or methods, including the sufficiency of facts or data and the manner of their application to the facts of the case, are generally accepted by the relevant expert community.” Id.
