Articles Posted in Expert Witness News

Columbia Professor of Law Jeffrey Fagan testified in the trial against the New York City Police Department’s “stop and frisk” program. The police procedures expert witness represented plaintiffs who say they were illegally stopped and frisked. Ny1.com reports Fagan testified that the “stop and frisk” practice was based on race which the NY Police Department denies.

Petroleum engineering expert witness Robert Bea testified Thursday in the British Petroleum oil spill trial. The UC Berkeley engineering professor says BP failed to follow safety precautions which resulted in the death of eleven workers and a massive oil spill. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Judge Carl Joseph Barbier is presiding.

Read more: http://www.local15tv.com/default.aspx.

Florida HB 7015 put forward by the Florida House Civil Justice Subcommittee and cosponsors Larry Metz and Matt Gaetz would update rules regarding expert witness testimony.

Expert Testimony: Provides that witness qualified as expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify in form of opinion as to facts at issue in case; requires courts to interpret & apply principles of expert testimony in conformity with specified U.S. Supreme Court decisions; subjects pure opinion testimony to such requirements; provides that facts or data that are otherwise inadmissible may not be disclosed to jury by proponent of opinion or inference unless court determines that probative value of facts or data in assisting jury to evaluate expert’s opinion substantially outweighs prejudicial effect.

Effective Date: July 1, 2013 Last Event: Filed on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 6:52 PM

Ventilation expert witnesses may report and testify on HVAC control systems, air conditioning, climate control, and related matters. Tony Abate of AtmosAirTM Solutions says Carnival Triumph passengers are being exposed to health risks due to raw sewage leaks and lack of ventilation, as reported in the Daily News. Over 4000 passengers and crew have been stuck aboard the cruise ship since Sunday due to an engine room fire. Passengers describe the conditions as horrible while waiting to reach port in Mobile, AL, on Thursday evening.

Education and schools expert witnesses may testify on school funding, school districts, and education administration. In the news, Shirley Beaulieu, chief financial officer at the Texas Education Agency, testified before state District Judge John Dietz that Texas’ public schools are $1 billion short. Stanford University education expert Eric Hanushek testified for Texans for Real Efficiency and Equity in Education and said funding is not so much the issue as “lack of efficiency.”

SEAK, Inc. will present its 22nd Annual National Expert Witness Conference April 27-28 in Rosemont, Illinois. SEAK writes:

Experts from all disciplines and with all levels of experience will benefit from multi-disciplinary advanced techniques. Nationally recognized presenters will discuss all aspects of expert witness testimony, ethics, and trial techniques. Conference participants will be presented with practical suggestions for succeeding as expert witnesses. This highly-acclaimed two-day program will include intensive breakout sessions.

SEAK has trained well over 20,000 expert witnesses, physicians, lawyers and nurses nationwide, and is located on Cape Cod, MA. More info: http://store.seak.com/22nd-annual-national-expert-witness-conference-april-27-28-2013/

Aircraft design expert witnesses may report on the airline industry, aviation accident analysis, aviation safety, the aircraft industry and associated matters. In the news, Boeing 787 Dreamliners are grounded around the globe for safety checks. Aviation experts say that fires on two 787 aircraft were likely caused by lithium-ion batteries receiving too much voltage too quickly. Dr. Jay Whitacre, Associate Professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, states “Other batteries don’t go this wrong when you treat them this badly.” Professor Whitacre has worked on developing a materials system for energy storage technologies at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was a member of the Mars Science Laboratory development team.

In Elected Judge May Complete Expert Witness Testimony, Michael S. Frisch, Ethics Counsel Georgetown Law Center writes:

The Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee has a recent opinion on the ethics of a judge testifying as an expert when retained prior to his election as a judge:

ISSUES

In Ohio Appellate Court finds expert testimony on legal malpractice required, legal ethics expert witness James King writes:

In a legal malpractice matter, an Ohio state appellate court affirmed a trial court ruling granting summary judgment to defendant attorneys on the basis that plaintiff failed to present expert testimony establishing that defendants failed to exercise “the knowledge, skill, and ability ordinarily possessed and exercised by members of the legal profession.” McWilliams v. Schumacher, 2013-Ohio-29, 2013 WL 118918 at *6. The court cited to Ohio law requiring expert testimony demonstrating the attorney’s breach of his standard of care, in all cases except where the breach of care was ‘obvious’:

“[I]t is well settled in Ohio that in order to prevail on a legal malpractice claim a plaintiff must demonstrate, through expert testimony, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the representation of the attorney failed to meet the prevailing standard of care, and that the failure proximately caused damage or loss to the client. Zafirau v. Yelsky, 8th Dist. No. 89860, 2008–Ohio–1936, ¶ 27. Further, “the Supreme Court made it clear that there must be a causal connection between the lawyer’s failure to perform and the resulting damage or loss.” Jarrett v. Forbes, 8th Dist. No. 88867, 2007–Ohio–5072, ¶ 19, explaining Vahila v. Hall, 77 Ohio St.3d 421, 1997–Ohio–259, 674 N.E.2d 1164.

Pesticides expert witnesses may report on pesticide products, pesticide regulations, and pesticide contamination. Recent research is showing a strong link between pesticides and Parkinson’s disease among farm workers and those who live near croplands. PsychCentral.com reports that UCLA neurologists have discovered a link between Parkinson’s and the pesticide benomyl with effects ten years after it was banned.

Pesticides paraquat, maneb and ziram have also been tied to increases in Parkinson’s not just among farm workers but in those who simply lived or worked near fields where the pesticides were utilized.