Given the extreme importance of expert testimony to litigation, is the reliability test for expert testimony set out in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals the most radical and consequential change in the modern law of evidence? Before Daubert, most courts in most circumstances required only that an expert witness be…
Former Lt. Gov. Earle E. Morris Jr.’s appeal of his securities-fraud conviction has been bumped up to the South Carolina Supreme Court. Morris, 78, was former board chairman of Carolina Investors. In November 2004, he was convicted on 23 counts of lying to investors during the Upstate firm’s financial collapse.…
As reported in Pennsylvania’s Times Leader, U.S. District Judge James Munley allowed gang expert witness Jared Lewis to testify as an expert witness at a Pennsylvania trial regarding the Illegal Immigration Relief Act. Lewis testified that the gang named “MS-13” had a presence in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and was one of…
A preliminary understanding and some basic investigation of the topic of expertise will allow the researcher to know what questions to ask the potential expert witness, and may also lead to the names of good potential experts in that field. Library web sites are an excellent place to begin the…
A number of expert witnesses do not market because they believe that attorneys market their qualifications for them to the legal community by word of mouth. With everything an attorney does all day in dealing with the tremendous expectations from clients and the stress of billable hours, do you really…
Montana District Judge Stewart Stadler granted a continuance request to continue a sex crimes’ trial in part because the defense attorney had not yet paid for his expert witnesses. As reported in the The Daily Interlake, former Children’s House Montessori administrator David Farr is accused of sex crimes against five…
Handwriting experts will square off in Virginia federal court over allegations that one stole the other’s analysis of the JonBenet Ramsey ransom note. As reported in the Virginia Pilot: Cina L. Wong, a forensic document examiner with an office on Granby Street, is seeking to stop author and handwriting expert…
American Lawyer Media (ALM), which runs the ALM Expert Witness Directory, is reportedly for sale. According to the Business Wire: Wasserstein & Co., LP [ALM’s owner] announced that it has retained Credit Suisse as its exclusive financial advisor to assist it in exploring various strategic alternatives for its investment in…
Oracle said Wednesday that it has sued software expert SAP “about corporate theft on a grand scale” seeking undisclosed damages. Oracle also argues that the theft formed the basis of SAP’s “Safe Passage” program, which is designed to entice Oracle customers to switch to SAP. As alleged in the complaint:…
A Canadian shoe impressions expert witness was allowed to testify in a South Carolina murder trial regarding bootprints made at the scene 11 years ago. Crime scene expert Robert Kennedy said foot impressions made inside the insole of a pair of low-top boots were similar to test impressions made by…