Effective Expert Witnessing

by Matson, Jack V.

• ISBN13: 9781566703406
• ISBN10: 1566703409
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-01-01
• Publisher: CRC Pr I Llc

Summary

Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park. Covers recent court rulings concerned with reliability, relevancy, and admissibility of expert testimony. Emphasizes the importance of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Daubert v. Merrill Dow Pharmaceuticals, its meaning, applications, and ramifications for expert witness opinion and testimony. Previous edition: c1994.

Table of Contents

Foreword	iii
Preface	v
The Author	vii
Baptism of the Expert Witness	3	(4)
Facts of the Case	3	(4)
Interfacing With the Legal System	7	(10)
Legal Procedure	7	(1)
Pretrial Discovery	7	(5)
Discovery Process	7	(1)
Pleadings and Motions	7	(1)
Documents and Tangible Evidence	8	(1)
Freedom of Information Acts	9	(1)
Expert Reports	9	(1)
Interrogatories	9	(1)
Depositions	10	(1)
Subpoenas	10	(1)
Evidence	11	(1)
Witnesses	12	(1)
The Courtroom	12	(2)
Venue	12	(1)
Judge	13	(1)
Jury Selection	13	(1)
Plaintiff and Defendant	13	(1)
Counsel and Cast	14	(1)
Witness Line Up	14	(1)
The Trial	14	(3)
Opening Statements	14	(1)
Objections	15	(1)
Rebuttal	15	(1)
Closing Statement and Jury Instruction	15	(1)
Closure	15	(2)
Developing Winning Strategies	17	(10)
Requisites of an Expert Witness	17	(7)
Definition	17	(1)
Functions of the Expert Witness	18	(1)
Hypothetical Case	19	(1)
Qualifications	20	(1)
The Bad Expert	20	(1)
The Good Expert	21	(1)
Courtroom Demeanor	21	(1)
Deposition Demeanor	22	(1)
Interacting With Your Lawyer	23	(1)
The Ethics of Expert Witnessing	24	(1)
In Summary	25	(2)
Fees, Contracts, and Marketing	27	(8)
Potential Clients	28	(2)
Criteria	28	(1)
Professional Societies	28	(1)
Expert Witness Service Companies	28	(1)
Networking	29	(1)
Letters to Attorneys	29	(1)
Advertising/Direct Mail	29	(1)
Contracts	30	(1)
Fees	31	(2)
Summary	33	(2)
Discovery	35	(14)
Document Production and Organization	35	(3)
Discovery Strategy	36	(1)
Bate Numbers	37	(1)
Your Organization	37	(1)
Putting the Organizational Tools To Work	38	(1)
Discovery in Negligence Cases	39	(7)
The Case	39	(7)
Conclusion	46	(3)
Expert Opinions Under Daubert	49	(12)
Frye Rules	50	(1)
Daubert Test	51	(8)
Admissibility of Expert Opinion Under Daubert	53	(1)
The Judge as Gatekeeper	54	(1)
Credentials	54	(1)
Experimentation	55	(1)
Computer Models	55	(1)
Nonscientific Knowledge	56	(1)
Depositions	57	(2)
The Future of Expert Reports	59	(2)
The Deposition	61	(10)
Predeposition Preparation	61	(1)
The Subpoena	62	(1)
The Setting	63	(1)
The Attorney's Interest	63	(2)
Additional Pointers	65	(1)
Typical Deposition Questions	66	(4)
Preliminaries	67	(1)
Opinion Questions	68	(2)
The End	70	(1)
Daubert Challenge	71	(12)
Fact of the Case	72	(7)
Defendant's Motion	73	(3)
Plaintiff's Response	76	(2)
Commentary	78	(1)
Surviving the Robinson (Daubert) Challenge	79	(4)
Preparation for Trial	83	(6)
Changing Your Opinion	83	(1)
Trial Theme	84	(1)
Trial Exhibits	84	(3)
Lawyer Preparation	87	(1)
Summary	87	(2)
Giving Testimony at Trial	89	(30)
The Jury and the Expert Witness	89	(3)
Jury's Importance	89	(1)
Jury Composition	90	(1)
Jury Response	90	(2)
Direct Examination	92	(4)
Introduction	92	(2)
Forthrightness and Objectivity	94	(1)
Credibility	95	(1)
Cross Examination	96	(23)
Under Attack	96	(1)
Opposing Counsel's Strategies	97	(1)
``Yes'' and ``No'' Answers	98	(1)
The Use of Hypotheticals	99	(2)
How To Handle Questions About Your Fee	101	(1)
Protection by Your Attorney	102	(1)
Testing Your Credentials	103	(6)
Leading You Out of Your Expertise	109	(2)
Use of Inflammatory Words	111	(2)
Items Not Considered	113	(1)
Open-Ended Questions	113	(2)
Impromptu Questions	115	(1)
Agreeing With the Opposition	116	(3)
Communication	119	(8)
Psychological Factors	119	(8)
Storytelling	119	(1)
Emotions	120	(1)
Leadership Without Primacy	121	(1)
Visualization	121	(2)
Conclusion	123	(4)
Section II. Case Studies
The Engineer's Nightmare: A Case Study	127	(30)
The Facts	127	(6)
The Complaint	127	(1)
Background	128	(3)
Startup	131	(2)
The Lawsuit	133	(15)
The Pleading	133	(5)
Fact Witness Depositions	138	(2)
Expert Reports	140	(5)
Expert Depositions	145	(3)
The Trial	148	(7)
Pretrial	148	(1)
Opening Statements	149	(1)
Witnesses	150	(3)
Closing Statements	153	(2)
Epilogue	155	(2)
The Experts	155	(1)
Personalities of the Lawyers	155	(2)
The Clients	157	(1)
A Gas of a Case	157	(4)
Witzig v. The County of Sugarland	157	(2)
Deposition	159	(1)
Escape	159	(2)
Swamp Gas and the Greenhouse Effect	161	(4)
Bahamas, Inc. v. Osman Geotechnical	161	(2)
Deposition	163	(2)
It's Criminal: More than Money at Stake	165	(6)
Environmental Protection Agency v. Chem Tank	165	(6)
Turning the Tables: The Expert as a Fact Witness	171	(4)
Hettsmansperger v. Macedonian Manufacturing	171	(4)
The Facts	172	(1)
Emotions	173	(1)
Deposition	173	(2)
The Big One	175	(8)
Thomas et al. v. Noble Oil	175	(8)
Deposition Phase	178	(2)
Settlement Negotiations	180	(3)
Junk Science	183	(8)
Watt Electric v. MG Associates	183	(8)
Discovery	184	(1)
Depositions	185	(1)
The Trial	185	(6)
Section III. Observations and Conclusions
To the Lawyer	191	(4)
Hire an Expert Consultant Shortly After a Client Has Contracted for Your Services	191	(1)
Early Interaction With the Case Is Important to the Expert	191	(1)
The Expert Needs To Be Able To Place Himself on the Other Side and View the Case as an Adversary	192	(1)
Experts Should Attend all Relevant Depositions of Both Fact and Expert Witnesses	192	(1)
A Good Expert Will Be Able To Develop the Paradigms and Metaphors for Translating the Technical Information to a Jury	193	(1)
A Good Expert Will Brainstorm Novel Approaches to Technical Issues	193	(1)
Trial Exhibits Are Extremely Important in Technical Cases, Making Seemingly Esoteric Statements Come To Life	193	(1)
A Good Expert Can Help Prepare the Questions for Direct and Cross Examination of Witnesses	194	(1)
In Summary	194	(1)
The Verdict	195	(4)
Practice	195	(1)
Study	196	(1)
Detective Work	196	(1)
Conclusion	197	(2)
The Future of Expert Witnessing	199	(6)
High Tech Experts	199	(2)
Junk Science	201	(1)
From Gladiator to Negotiator	202	(1)
Conclusion	203	(2)
Appendices
Appendix A: Directory of Organizations	205	(6)
Appendix B: National Society of Professional Engineers Recommended Practices	211	(6)
Appendix C: References	217	(2)
Appendix D: Letter to Attorney and Sample Resume	219	(2)
Index	221