When Must a Summary Witness Testify as an Expert?

Federal courts may allow a summary witness to explain how documents and testimony fit together. The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently rejected the argument that a summary witness needed to testify as an expert to explain the government’s case. Facts of the Case Carl Nicholson is a certified public accountant. He was […]

Damages Expert Excluded for Failure to Do Independent Verification

A plaintiff damages expert has been excluded in a false advertising case under the Lanham Act for failure to do any independent verification of the plaintiff’s cost estimates. The Dispute Natera and CareDx are manufacturers of kidney transplant tests. Natera created an advertising campaign aimed at showing that its kidney transplant rejection test is superior […]

New Scam Targets Expert Witnesses

A new scam in the Indiana area is targeting professionals, demanding money for not appearing as expert witnesses in court. The Scam Dr. Allison Bush, a physical therapist, says that she got a phone call from someone claiming to be Sergeant Donald Gilmore from the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office. The caller gave her a badge […]

Federal Advisory Committee Considers Significant Change to Rule 702

After the Supreme Court’s Daubert decision, judges may only admit expert testimony that is based on a reasonable methodology. A question that divides federal courts is whether expert opinions should be admitted if a jury could reasonably regard the expert’s methodology as reasonable even if the judge doesn’t. A federal advisory committee may soon propose […]

Guilty Verdict Thrown Out for Expert Testimony That Went Beyond Scope

The Michigan Court of Appeals has thrown out a jury’s guilty verdict and granted a new trial after determining that a doctor’s testimony went beyond the scope of what doctors may testify about in criminal sexual conduct cases. The Crime A minor child accused Ryan William Cole, 37, of sexually assaulting her three times in […]

Lawyers Claim that Prosecution Expert Threatened Witnesses

The lawyers who represent one of the Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd claim that an outside expert prosecution witness coerced the state medical examiner to change his opinion on what killed Floyd. George Floyd’s Death On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, who was a black man in handcuffs, died after […]

Potential Bias of Expert Witness Does Not Create Exception to Florida’s “Learned Intermediary” Doctrine

After being diagnosed with a pelvic organ prolapse, Charlotte Salinero elected to have an abdominal sacrocolpopexy, a procedure that uses a graft to support the top of the vagina. The surgery was performed by Dr. Jaime Sepulveda in 2012. While the patient’s own tissue can be used as a graft, it is common to perform […]

Expert’s Testimony About Behaviors that Are Common to Chat Room Participants Who Engage in “Age Play” Deemed Inadmissible

The Colorado Court of Appeals relied on a New Yorker cartoon to illustrate the issue it confronted in People v. Battigalli-Ansell. The cartoon features a dog at a keyboard telling another dog, “on the internet, no one knows you’re a dog.” The internet site Omegle is essentially a chat room. The site connects users randomly […]

Challenge to Expert Testimony Rejected in Lawsuit Against Unite the Right Organizers

A Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville during August 2017 brought together several white nationalist groups, much to the dismay of Charlottesville residents who support the American values of diversity and equal rights for all. The groups made Charlottesville a target because city leaders planned to remove a statute of Robert E. Lee. Hundreds of […]

Medical Malpractice Sex Assault Case Fails for Lack of Expert

A patient who claims that her medical provider touched her inappropriately during an exam lost her medical malpractice suit because she didn’t have an expert witness to testify about the appropriate standard of care. The Alleged Assault and Battery In September 2016, Erica Vipond had a medical appointment with Lance Beebout, a physician’s assistant with […]

ExpertPages Blog