In Finding the Cure: Experts That Can Help You Win Your Case, trial attorney and internal medicine physician Russell Kussman writes that finding the right expert and knowing how to utilize them is a necessary skill in medical malpractice cases.
Read more: https://www.caala.org/index.cfm?pg=semwebCatalog&panel=showSWTL&titleID=3332.
Psychology expert witness William Meadows will testify in the defense of thirteen year old Duvall County, Florida, resident Cristian Fernandez. The expert had been slated to testify for the prosecution but now believes Fernandez did not understand his Miranda rights and will testify for the defense.
Fernandez is charged with the murder of his two year old half brother and sexual molestation of his five year old half brother.
In Attempting to Exclude Expert Testimony, construction site expert witness William Gulya, Jr., President & CEO, Middlesex Trenching Company, writes:
Because the use of expert witnesses at trial is increasing, it comes as no surprise that attempts to exclude expert testimony are also increasing.
The first and most common is a motion in limine, often made before the trial or before the expert witness testifies. In a motion to the court, the attorney attempts to make a clear and convincing argument that the witness is unqualified to render his or her opinion. The second approach, often combined with the motion in limine, is to move for a voir dire examination of the expert.
In Making Your Screen Shot Count – How to Defensibly Collect Web Pages and Social Media Posts When Risk of Spoliation is High or it is Infeasible to Collect from the Web Host, Paul Easton and Tom Klaff discuss electronic discovery and web based documents. They cite Arteria Property Pty Ltd. v. Universal Funding V.T.O., Inc. which states ” This Court sees no reason to treat websites differently than other electronic files.”
Read their article on the challenges of collecting web based evidence.
Will County, IL, Judge Daniel Rozak is disallowing pharmacology expert witness testimony for the defense in the murder case against Christopher Vaughn. Vaughn, charged in the death of his wife and three children, is alleging that migraine medication his wife was taking led her to kill their three children and herself. The jury will hear a description of Topamax, including safety warnings.
Environmental toxicology expert witness Dr. Herman Gibb testified for Oregon Guard soldiers in their case against KBR, defense contractor at an Iraqi water treatment plant. The soldiers say they were exposed to unsafe levels of the carcinogen hexavalent chromium. Dr. Gibb is the President of Tetra Tech Sciences, a health risk assessment company located in Alexandria, VA, and previously worked for the EPA.
U.S. Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner in Chicago excluded damages expert witness testimony in Apple v. Motorola (1:11‐cv‐08540), ruling that neither Apple nor Motorola have been able to prove damages and will not be allowed to refile a claim. Regarding expert testimony, Judge Posner said:
The biggest challenge to the judge at a Daubert hearing, if as in this case the subject matter of the proposed expert testimony is within the judge’s comprehension, is to distinguish between disabling problems with the proposed testimony, which are a ground for excluding it, and weaknesses in the testimony,
which are properly resolved at the trial itself on the basis of evi‐
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives signed off on a bill allowing rape expert witnesses to testify for the prosecution. If approved, Pennsylvania will be the last state to adopt such a law.
Emergency response times expert witness Robert C. Krause, M.S., EMT-P, testified in Copley v. Fairlawn Rothrock Road regarding response times from three fire stations to Copley Place, OH. Krause is an expert in Emergency Vehicle Driving Procedures & Standards and Fire Communications & Dispatch Procedure.
Building codes expert witness Francis Newhams testified in the case against Montgomery County, PA, builder R. Bruce Fazio. Fazio, builder of a 26 unit condo that was condemned in 2010, is charged with criminal endangerment due to poor construction of the residences. Newhams serves as Zoning & Building Official for West Nantmeal Township, PA, and said the condo was built without approved plans.
