Should Judges Appoint Their Own Expert Witnesses?

The American system of justice is designed to be adversarial. Two sides do battle and a judge or jury decides which side has the better case. To prove their cases, parties often rely on expert witnesses. The system works reasonably well, but arguments are occasionally made that justice would be better served by relying on […]

Arson Expert Challenged by Ohio Prosecutor

A defendant who is charged with aggravated arson in Ohio wants to call a fire expert to support his theory of how the fire started. The prosecution filed a Daubert motion that challenged the expert’s qualifications to testify and his methodology. The trial court has not yet indicated how it will rule. Facts of the […]

Expert Changed His Testimony to Support Client’s Case

Expert’s testimony in another trial raises serious questions about whether he changed his testimony to support his client’s case A judge has ordered Montana Attorney General Tim Fox to preserve his office’s communications with an expert witness in a lawsuit against lethal injections, along with the results of any internal investigation into allegations that the […]

Virginia Taxpayers Spent More Than $38 Million on Litigation Against State Institutions

Election Experts Testify in Virginia Voter ID Case

Virginia has spent more than $38.6 million defending and settling claims against jails, sheriff’s departments, prisons and mental health facilities during the past five fiscal years, according to data from the Virginia Department of the Treasury. The Report The Virginia Department of Treasury recently released a paper that reports that Virginia has spent more than […]

Appellate Court Affirms Exclusion of Expert Testimony Regarding Culture of Prostitution

The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected the government’s contention that its expert witness in the “culture of prostitution” should be permitted to testify in an interstate prostitution trial. While the appellate court agreed with the district court that the expert testimony was not relevant, it also agreed that the district court might […]

Experts Disagree in “Dr. Death” Trial

The latest physician to be dubbed “Dr. Death” by the media was recently found guilty of aggravated assault. A Dallas jury rejected the testimony given by his expert witness and determined that he recklessly maimed a 74-year-old patient. The jury sentenced the former surgeon to life in prison. Facts of the Case Christopher Duntsch practiced […]

Ohio Suspends Crime Lab Experts

Prosecutors in state courts often depend on expert witnesses who are employed by state crime labs. Some of those labs have been criticized because the experts feel pressured to slant their testimony in ways that favor the prosecution. The labs have also been criticized for hiring experts without verifying their credentials and for failing to […]

Engineering Expert Not Required to Test Alternative Product Design Before Testifying

When product liability cases are based on the claim that a product was defectively designed, plaintiffs typically offer proof that a better design would have produced a safer product. In Quilez-Velar v. Ox Bodies Inc., the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit was asked to decide whether an expert witness should be permitted to […]

Expert Challenges Evidence Supporting Arson Conviction

William Amor was charged with causing a death by arson in a 1995 fire. A jury found him guilty in 1997. Amor has been in prison for the last 19 years. He has always contended that he did not purposely set the fire that killed his mother-in-law. Amor is seeking a new trial. In an […]

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