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Buffalo, NY, attorney Joseph J. Marusak writes:

This tribute is written to acknowledge the debt Western New York owes to Erie County’s former chief medical examiner. I first met Uku as a homicide prosecutor in the late 1980s…You soon learned that if Uku did the autopsy, there would be no reasonable doubt as to the cause of death. Defense counsel’s skills were irrelevant. Cross-examination only enhanced Uku’s credibility, for he always carried himself with an impeccable medley of modesty, candor and dignity….

His integrity was unmatched. It was not surprising to learn that O.J. Simpson’s lawyers reached across the country to solicit Uku to testify as their expert witness. Yet it was even less surprising to learn that Uku politely declined the offer, which would have given him the opportunity to close out his career on the national stage, testifying in perhaps this nation’s most celebrated murder trial. His testimony would have opened the proverbial doors of fame and fortune to him. Yet Uku simply said ‘no.’

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Dr. Alex Zakharia, a Florida surgeon, admitted Tuesday to creating the impression that he was the lead surgeon for numerous coronary artery bypass grafts – when he had never performed such surgeries. The expert witness testified at the trial of a doctor accused of medical malpractice at the Ann Arbor Veterans Administration. Zakharia pled guilty to contempt of court and under a plea agreement, he faces up to a year in custody. He must also make restitution with affected parties and retire from medical practice by the end of the year. mlive.com also reports:

Authorities said he testified as an expert witness in 2002 on behalf of a plaintiff charging a doctor at the VA with medical malpractice in connection with a coronary artery bypass graft.

…felony charges pending against him for perjury, mail fraud and wire fraud will be dismissed. He will be sentenced Dec. 11.

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In Prescription for Powerful Expert Testimony, Trial Magazine, May 2007, Deborah J. Gander advises to take these steps in order to get the most powerful testimony from your expert:

1) Make sure that your expert understands the legal elements that you have to prove in order to win your case.

2) If the deposition was months or years before the trial, refresh the expert’s memory before they get on the stand.

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Accident reconstruction expert witness Glen Urquhart says Robert Farquharson, a man accused of killing his three sons by driving his car into a dam, would have steered the vehicle toward the water. The expert witness says Farquharson made three distinct steering movements before the car entered the dam at between 60 to 80 mph. Urquhart testified that the car made an initial sharp turn to the right, then straightened and finally made a more subtle turn to the right before it entered the water. HeraldSun.com also writes:

Farquharson, 38, was at the wheel of his car with his three children inside when it plunged into a farm dam in Winchelsea, south-west of Melbourne, on Father’s Day 2005. The children – Jai, 10, Tyler, seven, and Bailey, two – drowned in the dam at Winchelsea while he swam to safety. The court has heard Farquharson said he had a coughing fit, blacked out and woke as the car was in the dam. However, the prosecution alleges he deliberately drove into the dam to get back at his estranged wife.

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Buccino & Associates, Inc. was hired in 2003 as an expert witness in the Just For Feet (JFF) Chapter 7 case. Their forensic accounting expert witness report resulted in the largest out of pocket payment by outside directors in history. The former JFF directors will pay $41.5 million, more than the combined payments of former directors in the Enron and WorldCom cases. EarthTimes.org describes Buccino as being hired to:

…perform forensic analysis, opine on corporate governance matters, evaluate Chapter 11 options, opine on insolvency issues, value the pro-forma reorganized company on a fair market operating basis, and, finally to determine financial damages. From 1996 to 1999, earnings were overstated by tens of millions of dollars. In 1999 alone, pre-tax income was reported as $43 million; and, if properly stated would have been a loss in excess of $100 million. In November, 1999, JFF filed for Chapter 11 and in early 2000 the case was converted to a Chapter 7 and its assets auctioned.

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When hiring an expert witness, make sure to review their prior testimony and opinions. Obtain and review transcripts of the expert’s testimony to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses that may affect testimony in your case. Has the expert given inconsistent testimony? Has the expert previously given verbose or confusing testimony? If so, that expert may not be right for your case.
Good credentials are appreciated by juries. The best expert witness for your case should be active in their field and up on recent developments but other factors are important as well. Demeanor and personal characteristics are also to be considered. Juries lean towards an expert who has no apparent bias. Does the expert give a clear and focused presentation? Is their testimony straight forward and not too long? The bottom line is…it is imperative to carefully evaluate the expert witness for your case.

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No matter the verdict in Phil Spector’s criminal case, his defense team will be back in court in two weeks defending him in a civil suit filed by Clarkson’s mother, Donna. Forensic pathology expert witnesses from the criminal trial would be called again. CourtTVNews.com reports:

Should Spector be acquitted, lawyers for Donna Clarkson would have to start from square one with the civil jury…’We would have to retry the whole case,’ said John Taylor, a civil lawyer for the Clarkson family. The bartender from Trader Vic’s, Dr. Pena, Lynne Herold, Adriano DeSouza – they’d all be back on the witness stand. The defense may call some of Spector’s expert witnesses from the criminal trial, as well as Clarkson’s friends, like Punkin Pie and Jennifer Hayes-Riedl.

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Christian Nielsen is charged with quadruple murder in western Maine. His lawyers want to have the 32-year-old cook declared incompetent to stand trial for the 2006 killings. Expert witness Dr. Ann LeBlanc, director of the state forensic service, testified Nielsen suffers from schizoid personality disorder but it does not make him incompetent to stand trial. Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson says Nielsen comprehends the charges against him, understands what’s at stake in the legal process and is capable of assisting in his defense if he chooses to while defense lawyers Ron Hoffman and Margot Joly say Nielsen is emotionally detached and disinterested in his legal defense. MaineToday.com also reports:

Forensic psychology expert witness LeBlanc acknowledged Thursday that “he’s not a mentally healthy person at all.” But she said there’s no evidence that he has ever sunk into psychosis or that he was delusional, two signs of bigger mental health problems. Asked if he was capable of “logically organized thinking,” LeBlanc responded that “he could do it.” Nielsen is aware enough of his situation that he thinks he’s “going to spend the rest of his life in prison or in a mental institution,” she said.

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Four organized-crime figures and a retired police officer were convicted Monday on federal racketeering charges in connection with 18 mob-related slayings dating back to the 1970s. Two of those convicted were Joseph “The Clown” Lombardo, 78, and Paul “The Indian” Schiro, 69. Expert witness James W. Wagner, president of the Chicago Crime Commission and past supervisor at the FBI’s organized crime unit in Chicago, testified for the prosecution. The RICO and racketeering expert witness said, “All that matters is that those who committed the murders be brought to justice, no matter how old the files might be or how long the case takes to get to court.” LATimes.com also reports:

The first of the 18 mob-related killings — forgotten by many amid this city’s notoriously corrupt and violent history — happened more than three decades ago. Two of the men connected to the so-called Family Secrets mob conspiracy case, designed in part to solve these cold-case killings, died before the case ever went to trial. A third was deemed too old and infirm for a courtroom…Frank Calabrese Sr., the 70-year-old convicted loan shark believed to be involved in more than a dozen slayings, also was found guilty of extortion and running a sports-bookmaking operation.

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Al Hixon is suing the city of Golden Valley, MN, and two of its police officers stating that his civil rights were violated by excessive force, battery and assault. Expert witness and former Minneapolis Police Chief Tony Bouza testified Monday in U.S. District Court that “The force used in this case was excessive, unnecessary, and constituted police brutality.” The police procedures expert witness spent an hour on the witness stand answering questions about the use of pepper spray. When asked by Hixon’s attorney Anthony Edwards, “Is it ever acceptable to spray a compliant subject?” “Never,” Bouza replied. StarTribune.com also reports:

Under questioning from defense attorney Jon Iverson, Bouza said he had no problems with officers using pepper spray to overcome resistance. But he insisted that it be ‘active resistance’ rather than ‘passive resistance.’ And he classified Hixon’s actions during the incident as passive resistance.