The Art And Science Of Expert Witness Testimony

Featuring in-depth interviews of attorneys, judges, and seasoned forensic experts from multiple disciplines including psychology, medicine, economics, history, and neuropsychology, The Art and Science of Expert Witness Testimony highlights and offers bridges for the areas where the needs and expectations of the courtroom collide with experts’ communication habits developed over years of academic and professional training. Rather than seeing testimony as a one-way download from expert to jurors, The Art and Science of Expert Witness Testimony focuses on the direct, dynamic, unique communication relationship that develops as each juror’s lived experience interacts with the words of experts on the stand. This book expands the academic tradition of "methods-centered credibility" to also include "person-centered credibility," where warmth, confidence, and relentless attention to detail build trust with jurors. Seasoned forensic experts share what they actually say on the stand: their best strategies and techniques for disrupting traditional academic communication and creating access to science and professional opinions with vivid, clear language and strong visuals. The difficult but necessary emotional work of the courtroom is addressed with specific techniques to regulate emotions in order to maintain person-centered credibility and keep the needs of jurors front and center through cross-examination. This innovative compilation of research is essential reading for professionals and practitioners, such as physicians, engineers, accountants, and scientists, that may find themselves experts in a courtroom. The Art and Science of Expert Witness Testimony provides a unique experience for readers, akin to being personally mentored by over eighty-five attorneys, judges, and seasoned experts as they share their observations, insights, and strategies—not to "win" as a defense, prosecution, or plaintiff expert, but to be productive in helping jurors and other triers of fact do their difficult intellectual job in deciding a case.

Part autobiography, part thought piece, part references, the book takes an insightful look at the experience and cases of renowned paediatrician and forensic expert witness Dr. Charles Ferguson. The book presents the interaction of science and law as it applies, specifically, the Canadian courts, but the justice process as a whole. Dr. Ferguson’s experience—from a scientist and medical professional’s perspective—in dealing with lawyers, judges, and the process of testifying in numerous court—offers a unique glimpse into how the two worlds of science and law don’t always mesh. In some cases the evidence is compelling and definitive. In others, far from it. Ultimately, the book presents the important role of the forensic expert and expert witness as a vital and deciding factor as the courtroom proceedings play out. The cases presented in the book—cases Dr. Ferguson was personally involved with—are interesting, the conclusions and results arrived at by Dr. Ferguson are well thought out and backed by his scientific expertise. The results and conclusions arrived at by the courts is often expected, sometimes surprising—in specific cases even controversial. Throughout all, Dr. Ferguson casts an independent, and sometimes critical, eye on the process presenting a compelling argument and heartfelt recommendation for science, objectivity, and justice to be served based on truth—truth insofar as the "facts" of the cases presented through evidence and the testimony provided within the judicial process. A fascinating read for university students, experts and witnesses, lawyers and judges, and anyone involved in the forensic process in the trying of criminal and civil cases.

• Solid research basis, drawing on findings from a 4-year research project with in-depth interviews with judges, attorneys, and seasoned forensic neuropsychologists and psychologists as well as further interviews with professionals in other fields such as engineering, physics and economics. • Provides focused attention on how experts interact with judges, attorneys, and juries • Challenges experts to avoid the traps of professional jargon and traditional manners of presenting information/knowledge/opinions. • Provides a step-by-step approach to orienting the new academic to expert witnessing

Testifying as an expert witness is one of the most exciting and hazardous forms of duty that professionals can be asked to perform. Drawing on his direct experience from 200 jury trials and 600 depositions within the American judicial system, Professor Brian Peter Brinig shares inside information on: - Strategies and tactics of high-level expert witness work - Providing sophisticated, defensible expert testimony in depositions and trials - Handling antagonistic attorneys and surviving cross-examination - The subtleties of testifying in front of judges and juries - Planning, developing and documenting the expert opinion - Procedures and practices required for success in litigation consulting - Managing and marketing a new or existing forensic consulting practice Mastering the Art of Expert Witness Testimony is a must-read for anyone involved in-or contemplating-this exciting, lucrative area of consulting.

Communication problems between science and the courts are widely deplored and sometimes exploited by a variety of groups. The U.S. Supreme Court has twice tightened the law of evidence to control the flow of information, but amazingly little has been written to analyze the nature of the problem and reduce the barriers. Expert Witnesses: Explaining and Understanding Science results from the first-hand experience of the contributors-who include scientists, expert witnesses, litigators, and a judge-that the cultural and interdisciplinary communications barriers between science and the law can be greatly reduced to everybody's advantage if the parties understand and respect each other's needs and positions.

A technical expert and a lawyer provide practical approaches for IT professionals who need to get up to speed on the role of an expert witness and how testimony works. Includes actual transcripts and case studies.

Excerpt from The Expert Witness and the Applications of Science and of Art to Human Identification, Criminal Investigation, Civil Actions IN some respects this book may be regarded as a sequel to my Science and the Criminal, part of which was also concerned with the problems of circumstantial proof, but in its more restricted field its scope is wider, since it discusses not only the methods of scientific proof, but also specialised evidence of every kind. Although the word expert is tending to fall into disuse in America, there is no word in this country which quite covers the same ground, for it connotes a special form of evidence, which, by the way, may be far from justifying its description of expert in the sense of skilled. The book owes much to the kindness of those who have allowed me to make use of their material and illustrations. In particular, I wish to thank Messrs. Wilder and Wentworth, and their publisher, Mr. R. Badger, for the readiness with which they gave me permission to quote from their standard work Personal Identification, and also for various communications and photographs which they have sent me privately. On writing the chapter on Experts in Art, I have been indebted to Major Kaye for the loan of the blocks of radiographs of Old Masters, which he kindly put at my disposal. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.