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Special health courts could be the answer to our medical malpractice mess writes Mark Crane, a former USA TODAY editorial writer. Ordinary citizens aren’t usually asked to decide complex legal disputes about tax law, bankruptcy, maritime cases, etc. for good reason. Crane writes:

While the principle of trial by jury is sacrosanct in America, basic fairness and common sense demand that such highly technical issues require expertise from witnesses and judges experienced in dealing with them.

Jurors hear testimony from dueling expert witnesses-hired guns who favor one party’s interpretation of events. The most personable witness may sway a jury no matter how fanciful his theories are. Jurors receive little guidance from judges as to how to evaluate that testimony or how much to compensate deserving plaintiffs.

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Expert witness and former New York chief medical examiner Michael Baden has been hired by District Attorney Michael Jackson in the case against former Selma, AL trooper James B. Fowler. Fowler is charged with the 1965 murder of civil rights protester Jimmie Lee Jackson which began the “Bloody Sunday” Selma-to-Montgomery march. The forensics expert witness will use Jackson’s autopsy records in his testimony. The Clarion-Ledger also writes that they have recently obtained information on new potential witnesses in the case.

At least 18 people witnessed the 1965 shooting of civil rights protester Jimmie Lee Jackson by an Alabama state trooper recently indicted on a murder charge in the case, newly obtained FBI documents show. Reports recently obtained by The Clarion-Ledger through a Freedom of Information Act request give details, including the identities of potential witnesses not even known to District Attorney Michael Jackson of Selma, who is prosecuting the case against former Trooper James B. Fowler.

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The Marion, IN Police Department’s accident reconstruction team is made up of five officers who receive special training for the “crash team.” Officer Chris Butche says “It’s such a challenge to try to take something of little importance to an accident and to try to take that and turn it into something beneficial to the accident.” Members of the team use complex mathematical formulas to determine variables like speed and distance and must be ready to respond at any time, sometimes working quickly to find evidence before it is lost due to snow or rain. The Chronicle-Tribune.com also reports accident reconstruction expert witness and team member Amber Richards stating:
“You always work your accident backwards,” said Richards, explaining that police always begin by investigating the moment of impact then branch out to find how the cars moved after the collision, if headlights were on or if passengers were wearing seat belts, among other factors. Accident reconstruction officers can press criminal charges against drivers who cause accidents through negligence. They often serve as expert witnesses in civil and criminal trials and their research can lead to traffic signal changes at dangerous intersections.

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An angry judge berated Phil Spector’s defense team this week for what he called “tactical, knowing” misconduct involving a new theory on Lana Clarkson’s death. Well known forensic pathologist expert witness Dr. Michael Baden revealed an explanation for blood on Spector’s clothing to jurors on the witness stand without notifing the prosecution in advance. CourtTVnews.com reports:

“I want to make it very clear there is a deliberate and knowing violation of discovery,” Fidler told the lawyers. Fidler interrupted Baden’s much-anticipated testimony soon after he laid out the new theory and held a special hearing outside the presence of jurors. The judge precluded the defense from questioning the expert witness further about the theory, which holds that Lana Clarkson survived a gunshot wound for several minutes.

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A federal judge in Dallas agreed this week that an Israeli intelligence officer can testify anonymously as an expert witness in the trial of five men accused of funneling money to the radical Islamic group Hamas. U.S. District Judge A. Joe Fish closed the courtroom to all but attorneys and families of the defendants so he could conduct a hearing on whether to permit an officer with Israel’s security agency to serve as a terrorism expert witness for the government. LATimes.com also writes:

The trial, now in its fourth week, centers on allegations that the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, founded in Los Angeles, funneled millions of dollars to overseas charities controlled by Hamas. The foundation, once the largest Muslim charity in the country, was closed by the U.S. Treasury Department in December 2001.

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Utilities expert witnesses will be testifying next month in the regulatory hearings into San Diego Gas & Electric’s proposal to build the controversial $1.3 billion Sunrise Powerlink. SDG&E proposing that Sunrise would begin in Imperial County, cross Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and then run across North San Diego County communities. SDG&E said it welcomes restarting the hearings which will include expert witnesses testifying under oath and subject to cross-examination. SignOnSanDiego.com writes:

Administrative Law Judge Steven Weissman of the California Public Utilities Commission yesterday set Sept. 4 as the date to restart the hearings and laid out a new schedule for future sessions. Although the first round of hearings was in San Diego, the hearings will resume in San Francisco, site of the PUC headquarters. The new schedule calls for sessions Sept. 4-7, Sept. 26-28 and Oct. 3-4, with the last two days optional.

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Attorneys for 45-year-old Lonnie Troy Glinski will try to prove that he was criminally insane when he planted four pipe bombs in the Willamette Valley, OR, last summer. Glinski faces 17 counts of felony charges, 13 counts of attempted aggravated murder and four counts of unlawful possession of a destructive device. Dr. Richard Hulteng was appointed by the court as a psychiatrist to give Glinski a mental evaluation in February and medical expert witnesses are set to appear for both the defense and prosecution. Court subpoenas inlcude mental health expert witnesses Dr. Roger Jacobson of Corvallis and Dr. James Koski of Corvallis. Law enforcement officials are set to appear as expert witnesses for the prosecution. StatesmanJournal.com also reports:

Lonnie Troy Glinski has been in custody since his arrest Oct. 17. The pipe bombs were discovered in four locations in the Salem area on Aug. 10, 2006…Glinski’s attorney Stephen A. Lipton said the defense does not intend to dispute the facts of the case, but makes the argument that Glinski was insane at the time of the crime.

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22-year-old Payton Lewis and his girlfriend Samantha Ely died in a fiery single-vehicle accident on Dec. 9, 2006 and Ford Motor Company is charged with their deaths. Lawyers hired by Payton’s mother Delicia Lewis filed a wrongful death suit against Ford Motor Company Thursday claiming that a faulty switch in Payton’s car caused his untimely death.
Plaintiff’s counsel have enlisted the help of an automotive fire safety expert, but more expert witness testimony is anticipated. JacksonvilleDailyProgress.com reports Lewis’s attorneys stating:

There is a lot of science and engineering that goes into all of this… A biomechanical engineer may be needed to determine whether Payton was killed on impact or not. There was absolutely no intrusion into the driver’s side of the passenger compartment during the crash, so we think the impact itself was very survivable.

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National Medical Consultants, P.C., is sponsoring the Medical Malpractice Seminar of 2007 which benefits the Children’s Sunrise Fund. The seminar will be offered in 3 installments each with different speakers and 7.5 hours of CLE hours. The dates and locations are as follows:

September, 10, 2007 – at the Marriot in Trumbull, Connecticut 7.5 CLE Credits

September, 20, 2007 – at the Marriot in Uniondale, Long Island, N.Y.

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Babysitter Katie Sue Savoy, 26, is charged with manslaughter in the death of 11-month-old Lane Leger. Expert witnesses testified that the child’s injuries were inflicted by an adult. Forensic pathologist expert witness Dr. Paul McGarry testified that Leger’s death could not have been the result of falling or bumping his head. The timeline has become a key element in the trial because the defense contends that the child was injured before arriving in Savoy’s care. Prosecutors established a specific time frame for the severe head injuries that led to Leger’s death and expert witness McGarry said he believes Leger may have been injured only an hour before being transported to the hospital. The DailyAdvertiser.com also writes:

The impact happened at great force,” McGarry testified. “The degree of injury is so heavy to break all three bones that I would expect a child with this type of injury to become symptomatic almost immediately.

Savoy was arrested two months later by investigators and if convicted, could face a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.