Expert Witness Blog

Jail expert witness Richard Lichten gives an inside view on the causes of jail and prison riots:

One of the reasons it is important to keep the jails and prisons fully funded is inmate and staff safety. In jail and prison, it is a given that inmates will fight. It’s going to happen, and it cannot be stopped. There are a number of things however the staff can do to lessen the violence and keep injuries to a minimum.

It is essential to have proper staffing, training, and supervision. Fewer staff members mean fewer officers walking around talking with the inmates. Sometimes inmates will tell officers about impending violence. Fewer staff means fewer patrols in the cell blocks and yard. With fewer staff the tension in the block and yard will not be felt. Feeling jail and prison tension is essential to do, but you must have staff there to do it. Fewer staff means important clues to danger will be missed. For example, when a number of inmates go to sleep with the clothes and shoes on trouble is brewing. Fewer staff means fewer inmates searched and fewer cell searches for contraband. And fewer staff means less opportunity to train for riots and other emergencies such as earthquake, fire, evacuation, and escape.

Law enforcement expert witness Richard Lichten gives an inside view on the causes of jail and prison riots:

I’m often asked which is more dangerous, and which is harder time, jail or prison. In my opinion and in the opinion of hundreds of inmates I’ve spoken with, hands down, jail is more dangerous and the time is much harder to serve. The reason for this is that in jail there is a very good chance young, non-violent inmates with little jail savvy will be housed in the same area with hardened, experienced, violent inmates who have no issue taking advantage of the uninitiated and vulnerable. Persons entering jail and prison for the first time have no idea how to act. They haven’t the slightest clue about showing respect to other inmates and have no idea how to interact with the staff. Remember, in jail it’s all about showing respect.

In jail you have far less privacy than in prison. You have far fewer chances to go to school and work, and you have far less recreation time. For example, in jail you might get your allotted three hours of yard time a week, where in prison you can spend hours a day in the yard. Believe me, yard time is a big deal. I’ve had many inmates tell me that they cannot wait to get to “catch the chain” so they can relax in prison.

In All Should Use Greater Care Handling Underwriting Information, insurance expert witness Akos Swierkiewicz writes:

In some instances, there may be an appearance of misrepresentation or omission due to the failure by the insurer to clarify responses to application questions. When presented with ambiguous or conflicting information, it behooves insurers to seek clarification prior to binding coverage or issuing the policy. For example, when an applicant found an application question inapplicable to its business, he amended it in a good faith attempt to provide accurate and complete information, and the insurer issued the policy without seeking clarifications. When a claim occurred, the insurer denied it, citing the answer to the modified question as evidence of misrepresentation.

In certain circumstances only litigation can resolve allegations of misrepresentation or omission. However, the exercise of greater care in obtaining and preparing underwriting information by applicants or brokers, and clarification of ambiguous information by insurers can substantially reduce the number of cases requiring litigation and inevitable delays and costs.

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In All Should Use Greater Care Handling Underwriting Information, insurance customs expert witness Akos Swierkiewicz writes:

The need for greater care with handling of underwriting information is not limited to applicants and brokers. Insurers should ask all pertinent questions in the application form because, in many instances, the applicant may be aware of important underwriting information but does not disclose it simply because it was not asked.

Application questions should be limited to seeking factual information rather than eliciting the opinion or judgment of the applicant. For example, when the applicant answered “no” to a professional liability application question as to whether future claims were expected, based on the applicant’s opinion or judgment, the insurer concluded that the response was a misrepresentation or omission just because a claim did occur.

In All Should Use Greater Care Handling Underwriting Information, insurance practices expert witness Akos Swierkiewicz writes:

The following are examples of alleged misrepresentations or omissions involving litigation:

* the broker asked the applicant to sign a blank application form, completed and released it to the insurer without providing copy to the applicant;

In All Should Use Greater Care Handling Underwriting Information, insurance expert witness Akos Swierkiewicz writes:

State insurance laws generally allow the insurer to deny claims or rescind the policy for misrepresentation or omission, including concealment fact or incorrect statement, if:

* it was material either to the acceptance of the risk or to the hazard assumed by the insurer, or