In Help! My New House Is Falling Down, architect Peter Lattey writes that uncovering construction defects requires an expert to discover the cause of damage. A homeowner walks into your office and says “My new house is falling apart and I want to sue the bum that built it.” As…
In Cross-Examination of Experts: Where to Start, Richard A. Cook, Esq., offers a list of areas to review including Learned Treatises, Private Investigators, and more. Mr. Cook, member of the Indianapolis law firm Yosha Cook Shartzer & Tisch, is a former Assistant U. S. Attorney for the Northern District of…
In Litigating Competence-Five Central Questions, psychology expert witness Philip J. Kinsler, Ph.D., writes: 2. What specific psycho-legal skills should be addressed in a competency evaluation? 2.1. An examination of competence often makes an assessment of the following psycho-legal skills: 2.1.1. Whether the Defendant has an appreciation of the charges; 2.1.2.…
In The forensic expert witness-An issue of competency, Forensic Science International writes: Scientists submitting expert opinions within the legal system are expected to be knowledgeable in the forensic aspects of their particular science, as well as to be ethical and unbiased. Scientists are seldom able to decline a request to…
In Witness Competency, Bonnie Sudderth, Judge of the 352nd District Court of Tarrant County, TX, writes: Long before Robinson and Daubert subjected expert witnesses to a judicial pre-screening process, Texas judges were acting as gate-keepers as to fact witnesses on the basis of competency. In fact, legal history in Texas…
Quebec Justice Brian Riordan agreed to hear the testimony of Stanford University’s Robert Proctor in the class action case against Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, and JTI-Macdonald. The tobacco expert witness published Tobacco and the Global Lung Cancer Epidemic in 2001 and has previously testified in 30…
An ABA Section of Litigation Task Force was appointed by Section of Litigation Chair Hilarie Bass to explore the creation of guidelines for retention of experts by lawyers on behalf of their clients. At the August ABA annual meeting the ABA House of Delegates voted down the resolution to adopt…
In EVALUATING AN EXPERT WITNESS FOR SCHOOL SAFETY CASES, school safety expert witness Michael Dorn writes: The Need to Evaluate an Expert Witness before Hiring Whether an attorney advocates for the defense or the plaintiff, few things can be as damaging to a civil or criminal case as finding out…
SEAK, Inc. is offering the program How to Excel at Your Expert Witness Deposition January 26-27, 2013. SEAK has trained well over 20,000 expert witnesses, physicians, lawyers and nurses nationwide, and is located on Cape Cod, MA. How to Excel at Your Expert Witness Deposition is fast moving and content…
In How to Prepare for, Take and Use a Deposition, litigator Daniel P. Dain writes “The deposition of an expert witness is the culmination of the opposing party’s defense or prosecution.” Mr. Dain is a founder and the managing partner of Brennan, Dain, Le Ray, Wiest, Torpy & Garner in…