How to Determine Expert Witnesses

Expert witnesses can help to change the direction or outcome of court proceedings.

Expert witnesses provide firsthand, expert accounts needed most commonly in court proceedings and medical situations. It is important to correctly determine expert witnesses so you obtain accurate information and documentation to back up or discredit evidence within a case. Expert witnesses may help direct court and medical cases in a more defined direction. Knowing a witness's career and education history can help you to determine if they are qualified to testify on a particular subject.

Instructions

1. Determine who can be used as an expert witness in your case. An expert witness can be anyone with "knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education," according to the Federal Rules of Evidence. An expert witness can provide a firsthand account or contribute firsthand information relevant to the case, so a lawyer should look to find out who was there during a crime or incident or who has information that relates directly to it.

2. Get information on the credentials and expertise of the person who has potential to be one of your expert witnesses. The judge overseeing your case must approve the expert witnesses before they are allowed to testify for a case. An expert witness's credibility is usually verified by his reputation in his particular field and whether or not his expertise relates to the case or the allegations in question. Reputable forensic experts can be used in crime-scene court case proceedings, for example, and medical examiners can be used as expert witnesses in medical cases.

3. Question your witnesses to make sure they are not biased in regards to the case. If the witness is related to individuals involved in the case, or may have motives for directing the case a certain way, do not use that witness. Previous testimony in a different case can give an expert witness credibility, but multiple testimonies within the same case can make a witness too involved in court proceedings to be used as an unbiased expert witness.

Tips & Warnings

• Lawyers can find expert witnesses by contacting experts who have written reputable articles --- such as scholars from universities, for example --- to find people within a field that relates to a case and who can be used as expert witnesses.

References

• Forensic Resources: What is an Expert Witness
• Expert Psychologist: What it Takes to be an Expert Witness
• Slate Magazine: Can I Be an Expert Witness?