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Vicki Colvin, executive director of the International Council on Nanotechnology, told the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology Wednesday that nanotechnology holds great promise for the future of cancer therapy and water treatment. Colvin, also director of Rice University’s Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology, said however, that concerns about the safety of nanoproducts may limit important technological developments. Colvin was an expert witness at the hearing “Research on Environmental and Safety Impacts of Nanotechnology.” The hearing relates to the current direction of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). The technology expert witness also said:

‘There is an urgency to nano-EHS research that affects the entire NNI investment,” she said. “Innovation in nanotechnology is being threatened by the uncertainty about its risks. We need this innovation more than ever right now.’ She called on the National Nanotechnology Initiative to release a detailed strategy for nano-EHS research no later than fall 2008.

To read the full text of Colvin’s remarks, visit http://icon.rice.edu.

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In Utilizing Experts In An Expert Way, Kelli Hinson and Tesa Hinkley describe the crucial role expert witnesses have at trial and give advice on how best to use them. In this excerpt, Hinson and Hinkley give tips on how to control costs.

Include expert costs in your budget. Consulting and testifying experts can be significant expenses, and you should ensure from the outset that your budget includes line items for this purpose. In all cases, agreeing early on a scope of tasks and requesting regular updates is the best way to avoid surprises and manage costs. Mid-course changes as well as last minute rushes are costly. If it is not initially clear which tasks are to be completed, hiring consulting experts may help to bring focus to the right topics once the issues are better understood. In large cases wilth significant ramp-up costs, you can minimize the costs associated with document management, learning curves, and coordination among testifying experts by relying on consulting experts for all phases of the engagement, with testifying experts assigned to specific tasks.

Excerpted from the ABA Expert Witness Alert, Summer/Fall 2007

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In Utilizing Experts In An Expert Way, Kelli Hinson and Tesa Hinkley describe the crucial role expert witnesses have at trial and give advice on how best to use them. In this excerpt, Hinson and Hinkley give tips on how deal with the timing of expert witness reports.

Because clients often want to review reports prior to filing, experts must complete their reports well in advance of the actual deadline. Depending on the complexity of the report, up to two weeks may be needed for auditing to ensure an error-free analysis and preparation of backup material. Planning to substantially complete the report several weeks prior to the deadline will leave sufficient time for you to review it, for your expert to address client comments, for the expert’s support team to resolve last minute concerns, audit the report, and complete backup material.

Excerpted from the ABA Expert Witness Alert, Summer/Fall 2007

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Three of the six Australians charged with the Bali Nine heroin smuggling ring challenged the constitutional validity of the death penalty and lost on Tuesday. Indonesia’s Constitutional Court rejected the challenge, saying the right to life could be limited by Indonesian laws. Expert witnesses argued that executions breach Indonesia’s constitution and international obligations. Indonesia is a signatory on an international treaty supporting abolition of capital punishment. The treaty calls for executions against only the “most serious crimes,” which does not include drug trafficking.

If the Bali Nine had prevailed, criminal law expert witness Rudy Satrio from the University of Indonesia, predicted the court could retain capital punishment but endorse a new draft of the national criminal code, to avoid creating chaos in the justice system.

For more, see The Age.com.

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In Utilizing Experts In An Expert Way, Kelli Hinson and Tesa Hinkley describe the crucial role expert witnesses have at trial and give advice on how best to use them. In this excerpt, Hinson and Hinkley give tips on how to set a reasonable schedule.

Whenever possible, work with the opposing side to provide experts enough time to perform their analyses and write their reoprts. Leaving only a few weeks for rebuttal reports and depositions can result in rushed work and though plaintiffs often prefer a tight schedule, both plaintiffs and defendants benefit from having time to respond properly.

Excerpted from the ABA Expert Witness Alert, Summer/Fall 2007

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In Utilizing Experts In An Expert Way, Kelli Hinson and Tesa Hinkley describe the crucial role expert witnesses have at trial and give advice on how best to use them. Here they give useful tips on scheduling academic experts to fit the time table for your case.

Most academic experts have teaching and research duties that can restrict the time they have available for consulting activities. The more senior academics often teach one semester per year. Identifying this period in advance, and working around it by utilizing the summer and other non-teaching periods, will maximize th expert’s availability for your needs.

Excerpted from the ABA Expert Witness Alert, Summer/Fall 2007

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In Utilizing Experts In An Expert Way, Kelli Hinson and Tesa Hinkley describe the crucial role expert witnesses have at trial and give advice on how best to use them.

Plan ahead when considering experts. Some cases may benefit from muliple testifying experts. Start by considering anticipated phases of the case (class certification, liability, damages) when determining the scope of your expert needs. Breadth of consulting support can help you avoid retraining a new support team when new experts are added. For larger litigation, identifying an expert early will lessen the risk of losing the expert’s services to another party in the litigation.

Excerpted from the ABA Expert Witness Alert, Summer/Fall 2007

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Media expert witness Dr. Mary Lynn Young will be heard on Oct. 29 and 30 at the Cornwall Ontario Public Inquiry. Young is the acting director and an associate professor at the University of British Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. The expert witness will speak on the impact media coverage may have had on the community and whether that coverage influenced institutional response to allegations of child sexual abuse. The Inquiry’s task is to research and report on the institutional response of the justice system and other public institutions in relation to allegations of historical abuse of young people in the Cornwall area. CNW Group also writes:

Having nearly completed hearing testimony from witnesses who are victims or alleged victims of child sexual abuse, the Inquiry is now hearing community context evidence. Much of this form of evidence is provided by individuals who were not themselves victims of childhood sexual abuse, but who became involved in issues related to allegations of abuse. Some of the witnesses scheduled to appear have held to the view that there was disregard for – or suppression of – information regarding abuse of children and youth.

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A polygraph test was admitted into evidence at a criminal trial in Ohio last week for the first time in more than thirty years. As a result, Sahil Sharma was found not guilty of sexual battery. The main witness for the defense was Dr. Louis Rovner of Los Angeles, California, a renowned scientist and polygraph expert witness. After a polygraph test that lasted more than 2 ½ hours, Rovner concluded that Mr. Sharma was telling the truth when he said that the woman was wide awake and that the sexual encounter was consensual.

The case of Ohio vs Sahil Sharma had been hotly contested for more than a year. Rovner returned to Ohio for the trial and testified in open court, examined first by the defense, and cross-examined aggressively by the prosecutor. During the reading of the verdict, Dr. Rovner’s expert witness testimony was cited as one of the primary pieces of evidence that led to the finding of not guilty.

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A Kansas City jury this week convicted Lisa Montgomery of killing Bobbie Jo Stinnett to kidnap Stinnett’s unborn daughter. The defense expert witnesses had testified that Montgomery suffered pseudocyesis, a delusional belief that she was pregnant, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The prosecution’s forensic psychiatriy expert witness Park Dietz dismissed the pseudocyesis claim but agreed Montgomery suffered from the stress disorder. He testified that it did not rise to the level of severe mental disorder which would have been key in supportilng an insanity defense in federal court. The Kansas City Star also reports that the federal jury found Montgomery, 39, guilty of one count of kidnapping resulting in death.