This opinion, by superior court judge Judith Fabricant in Massachusetts, illustrates the remarkable transformation that has occurred in American courtrooms because of the Daubert decision. Daubert requires judges to serve as "gatekeepers" who exclude unreliable expert testimony, and the judge did just that. The case involved allegations that exposure to mold caused a child's autism, and the plaintiff lined up a very well-qualified expert, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Unintimidated, the judge methodically took apart the testimony, concluded that it was based on unreliable speculation, and excluded the evidence. I think it's fair to say that pre-Daubert (Massachusetts is a Daubert state) the odds that this testimony would have been excluded are rather low.