Expert Witness Blog
In EVALUATING AN EXPERT WITNESS FOR SCHOOL SAFETY CASES, school safety expert witness Michael Dorn writes:
A careful reading of his expert witness resume showed a lack of advanced and relevant formal training and work experience for some of the key issues in the case. There were also questions about some serious issues in his past, such as a reported termination from a position as a school security director, allegations of involvement in unethical bidding practices, a reputation for frequently harassing school systems and government agencies that would not hire him by filing open records requests, and lodging complaints and making derogatory statements about the organizations in press releases and media interviews. I felt this expert witness would likely not withstand a thorough and skilled examination by a competent and properly prepared attorney. The attorney who retained this expert for the defense apparently missed these potential problem areas in the expert’s background. When plaintiff’s counsel prepared to vigorously challenge the qualifications of the defense expert at deposition, the defense withdrew the expert, and soon thereafter settled the case on terms suitable to the plaintiff. While the defense had other problems with their case, losing what they thought was a top caliber expert witness well into the court proceedings certainly did not help.