Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 93653; Published
Judges Weaver, Kelly, and Kirwan; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 162 Mich App 695; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Determining Serious Impairment of Body Function as a Matter of Law (DiFranco Era – 1987-1995) [§3135(1)]
Evidentiary Issues [§3135]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous per curiam Opinion, the Court of Appeals reversed a trial court ruling allowing the admission of thermographic testing results to prove serious impairment of body function.
The trial court ruled that thermographic evidence was sufficiently accepted by disinterested experts to justify its admission.
The Court of Appeals, after reviewing the evidence, concluded that the three experts who had testified as to the acceptance of the technique of thermography were not "disinterested or impartial." All three experts had intimate involvement in the elevation of thermography as a diagnostic technique, and each enjoyed economic benefits from the advancement of this technology. Under the so-called "Davis-Frye" rule, admissibility of a novel form of scientific evidence is conditioned upon acceptance among impartial and disinterested experts in the field. Based upon its conclusion that the experts in this case were not disinterested nor impartial, the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with the recent decision in DiFranco.