![]() ![]() Once an expert witness is called to testify at a trial, the party who is offering the expert will ask him/her questions to establish his/her expertise. ![]() If the proposed expert has only been in the field for a very short time, or has experience in some other area that does not necessarily match up with why s/he is called to testify, then you can challenge the witness being recognized by the court as an expert. ![]() Once you know who the expert witnesses are that the other side is going to call, you can research into their background to see if the expert is actually experienced enough to qualify as an expert. You will want to know about expert witnesses that the other party plans on calling to testify so that you have time to prepare for how to handle them at trial. It can be important to know how qualified each expert is so that an argument can be made as to which expert’s testimony should be believed (credited) by the judge or jury. In some cases, both sides will use expert witnesses who may even reach different conclusions. This information is necessary so the opposing side can begin researching the expert with an eye towards trying to show that the person is not actually an expert and should not be allowed to reach any conclusions in the case. If a party is going to use an expert witness, s/he usually has to give to the other party the expert’s contact information and what subject the expert will be testifying about. Experts do not need to be academic in nature, you may be able to call a mechanic to explain what happens if sugar is put into a gas tank, or you could call a domestic violence professional to talk about the dynamics of domestic violence. For example, a psychologist may be called as an expert witness to explain why an abused partner did not leave an abuser and otherwise acted in ways that might not make sense to a judge who doesn’t have any experience with domestic violence issues. Unlike any other witnesses who can only testify about what they have seen, felt, heard, smelled, touched, etc., expert witnesses can draw conclusions and give their opinions as part of their testimony.Įxperts can be useful in cases that involve domestic violence. If you do plan to contact the other party’s witnesses, you should be careful about contacting the witnesses outside of an official setting because you could be accused of tampering with the witnesses.Īn expert witness is someone with specialized skills, knowledge, or experience who testifies in court about what s/he believes has happened in a certain case based on those specialized skills, knowledge, or experience. However, you cannot threaten witnesses, intimidate them, or suggest answers. ![]() You can contact witnesses the other side identifies, and the other side is allowed to talk to your witnesses. Once you have the other side’s witness list, you can decide whether to ask for depositions from any of the witnesses. In addition to requesting the names of the witnesses, you may be able to ask for a brief description of what they will testify to. If you have to formally request a witness list, you would usually do this in writing as part of your discovery demands. In other cases, you will have to request a witness list during discovery. The parties might also have to disclose if they plan to use any witnesses during the trial, both expert witnesses and non-expert witnesses who are often referred to as “lay witnesses” or “fact witnesses.” Depending on the type of court case, the parties might automatically have to exchange witness lists before trial. As part of the discovery process, the parties can usually ask each other to identify any witnesses who saw incidents that occurred or who have other relevant information. ![]()
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