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Full-Text Articles in Law

Introduction, Shari S. Diamond, Richard O. Lempert Oct 2018

Introduction, Shari S. Diamond, Richard O. Lempert

Articles

Experts bedeviled the legal system long before seventeenth-century Salem, when the town's good citizens relied on youthful accusers and witchcraft experts to identify the devil's servants in their midst. As in Salem, claims of expertise have often been questioned and objections raised about the bases of expert knowledge. Expertise, then and now, did not have to be based on science; but the importance of science and the testimony of scientific experts has since medieval times been woven into the fabric of the English jurisprudence that Americans inherited. In cases as long ago as 1299 we find examples of courts seeking …


Expert Testimoney And Opinion Evidence In A Narcotics Prosecution, Robert Ewald Nov 2017

Expert Testimoney And Opinion Evidence In A Narcotics Prosecution, Robert Ewald

Faculty Works: Criminal Justice and Legal Studies

Courts in New York have admitted expert testimony when “it would help to clarify an issue calling for professional or technical knowledge, possessed by the expert and beyond the ken of a typical juror.” People v. DeLong 60 NY2d 296 (1983). More specifically, in making such a determination, the trial court must consider [1] “when jurors are able to draw conclusions from the evidence based upon their day-to-day experience, their common observation and their knowledge, [2] and when they would be benefited by the specialized knowledge of an expert witness.” Cronin at 433. The Court of Appeals has recognized that …