The Illinois House committee is considering Bill HB1896, which would require pretrial hearing on the merits of any expert witness in a civil trial. Though the bill would apply to all civil litigation, the debate in the Illinois House committee will focus on medical experts in malpractice trials. As stated…
Expert Witness Blog
Myth #4: Attorneys look long and hard to find the right expert.
When one looks at the characteristics of attorneys, it becomes obvious that they do not spend a great deal of time finding the “best” expert witness: 1. Attorneys are middle persons who are controlled by the client. They will advocate the expert witness to the client, who ultimately pays for…
What Happens When Expert Witnesses Visit Prisoners?
Viewing jail visitor lists is a common practice among prosecuting attorneys. But what happens when defense counsel asks an expert witness to visit a prisoner? Should that information be privileged? Courts have disagreed. In California, one court denied the public defenders’ request to keep prosecutors from knowing which defense experts…
Finding Experts in a Medical Negligence Case
Philip Michels, a plaintiff’s lawyer at Michels & Watkins in Westwood, California, has written an excellent article entitled “Finding and effectively using experts in a professional medical negligence case.” The article appears in the April 2007 of the Advocate magazine, published by the Counsumer Attorneys Associations for Southern California. In…
Expert Witness Testimony Critical in Striking Down Internet Porn Law
U.S. District Judge Lowell Reed struck down a 1998 U.S. law that makes it a crime for operators of Internet sites to let anyone under 17 have access to sexual material, rebuffing the government’s argument that software filters are ineffective and upholding earlier rulings that the law infringed on free-speech…
Should There Be a Code of Ethics for Expert Witnesses?
West Virginia’s “Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse” plans to ask the legislature to create a “code of ethics” to prevent “misleading expert witness testimony.” As reported in the West Virginia Register-Herald, a survey about expert witnesses was conducted by the the Center for Survey Research at the University of Virginia: In…
Psychology Experts to Testify in Murder Re-trial
Several medical expert witnesses and psychology experts are again expected to testify in the retrial of Daniel Ramsey of Keokuk, Iowa. His retrial began on Monday, April 2, 2007 in Lewistown, Iowa for the July 8, 1996, slayings of two girls. Ramsey was 18 when he was accused of the…
Is the Daubert Reliability Test the Most Radical Change in the Law of Evidence?
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…
Securities’ Experts Central to Appeal
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.…
Gang Expert Allowed to Testify in Illegal Immigration Trial
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…