Where Are the Dauberts Today?

a doctor and a child

The Supreme Court’s Daubert decision revolutionized the law governing the admissibility of expert witnesses. The decision imposes a duty on trial judges to decide whether expert testimony is sufficiently reliable to be admitted as evidence in court. While there remains widespread disagreement about whether Daubert is meant to open or close the door to expert […]

How Do Jurors Evaluate Expert Opinions?

A study co-authored by professors of psychology and law at the University of New South Wales examined the factors that jurors are likely to consider when they decide whether an expert’s opinion is persuasive. The goal was to determine how jurors “differentiate witnesses who offer genuinely expert opinions from those who do not.” The study […]

Experts Testify at Congressional Hearing About Blockchain Technology

stock market

A panel of experts have offered testimony at a United States Congress hearing over the benefits of blockchain technology for small businesses. Congressional Hearing The hearing, entitled, “Building Blocks of Change: The Benefits of Blockchain Technology for Small Businesses,” was held before The Committee on Small Business on March 4, 2020. The purpose of the […]

Colorado Supreme Court to Weigh in on Experts in Domestic Violence Cases

A judge

The Colorado Supreme Court has decided to hear a case to determine whether to permit expert witness testimony in domestic violence trials by experts who are not familiar with the details of the case. The Domestic Dispute In the summer of 2013, Kerry Lee Cooper and his partner, L.K., got into an argument over where […]

Only an Expert Can Testify that a Patented Invention Was Obvious

One defense to a patent infringement lawsuit is that the patent should not have been granted because the patented invention is based on an obvious modification of existing ideas. The issue in HVLPO2, LLC v. Oxygen Frog, LLC was whether a lay witness could testify about the obviousness of an invention. The Court of Appeals […]

Testing Instruments Used by Forensic Psychologists Criticized as Junk Science

Fake

Psychologists and other mental health professionals give helpful testimony in a variety of contexts. In civil cases, they may testify about the emotional trauma experienced by an accident victim. In family law cases, psychologists determine the fitness of parents seeking child custody. In workers’ compensation cases, they provide opinions about the degree of disability caused […]

Covering the Cost of Experts in Utah Jail Death Cases

In Utah, expert witnesses play important roles in the civil court cases that are fought over jail deaths.  Who pays for these experts?  That depends on if you’re a plaintiff or a defendant. The Government Indemnity Pool In the State of Utah, there is a government indemnity pool that pays for civil defense attorneys and […]

Improper Expert Testimony About CSAAS Results in New Trial for NJ Defendant

Ethical Issues in the Legal System

Prosecutors who charge defendants with sex offenses involving minors sometimes base their prosecutions solely on the alleged victim’s testimony. Fearing that a jury will doubt that testimony, prosecutors often bolster their cases with expert witnesses. In some cases, expert testimony is uncontroversial. A physician who examines a child and discovers wounds that were likely caused […]

Former FBI Director Excluded as Expert Witness

A federal judge has excluded the testimony offered by a former FBI Director in the case of the high-profile Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal. Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Scandal Volkswagen installed emissions software on more than 500,000 diesel cars in the United States and about 10.5 million more globally that allowed them to sense when a car […]