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.
Voir dire is a legal phrase referring to an oath to tell the truth (Latin verum dicere), i.e., to say what is true, what is objectively accurate or subjectively honest, or both. A voir dire examination is really a diminutive cross-examination in an attempt by the opposing counsel to expose an expert’s lack of qualifications on the area about which the expert intends to offer opinion testimony. In other words, a voir dire examination allows the opposing attorney to interrupt the direct examination and conduct, in part, his cross-examination.