Evidence Commons^™

The Common Law Theory Of Experts: Deference Or Education?, Joseph S. Miller, Ronald J. Allen

Scholarly Works

What if witness testimony emerges from, or can only be understood by reference to, an experience that the fact finder lacks? Or what if the connection between what a witness says and the full import of what the witness means is so arcane that the chances are virtually zero that the jury will understand what the spoken words are intended to convey? Both cases arise surprisingly frequently in the trial of disputes. For example, the problem arises whenever a witness is not fluent in English, as it often does when the common practice of a business or trade plays a …

Meta-Evidence: Do We Need It?, Christopher B. Mueller

Publications

No abstract provided.

Expert Evidence, Samuel R. Gross

Articles

It seems that the use of expert witnesses in common law courts has always been troublesome. In his Treatise on the Law of Evidence, first published in 1848, Judge John Pitt Taylor describes several classes of witnesses whose testimony should be viewed with caution, including: enslaved people (which accounts for "the lamentable neglect of truth, which is evinced by most of the nations of India, by the subjects of the Czar, and by many of the peasantry in Ireland"); women (because they are more susceptible to "an innate vain love of the marvelous"); and "foreigners and others ... living out …

Expert Testimony On The Batered Woman Syndrome In Maryland, Jeanne-Marie Bates

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Conflict Concerning Expert Witness And Legal Conclusions, Charles W. Ehrhardt

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Helping Jurors To Make Sense Of Expert Testimony, David Aaronson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Today's jurors frequently sit in trials where confusing and conflicting expert testimony is likely to be presented by sophisticated and highly trained individuals, using terminology unfamiliar to the average person. Proposals have been made and trial courts are experimenting with various procedures—none thoroughly evaluated— to improve jurors’ ability to cope with such testimony. My purpose here is to more clearly identify the problem and to review some of the reform proposals.

The Collision Between New Discovery Amendments And Expert Testimony Rules, Paul F. Rothstein

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The young litigator's nightmare was always the same. He was in medieval Europe, ready to engage in a sword fight with the expert swordsman representing his arch rival. After countless hours of preparation, he felt confident that he would be able to hold his own against the swordsman. But when the swordsman drew his lengthy rapier from its sheath, the young attorney pulled only a short dagger from his scabbard. Realizing that he was doomed to defeat, he tossed his dagger into the air and ran from the scene with the laughter of the onlookers ringing in his ears.

The …

Direct Examination: Some Evidentiary And Practical Considerations, W. Dent Gitchel

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Policing The Bases Of Modern Expert Testimony, Ronald L. Carlson

Scholarly Works

The expanding array of scientific (as well as some not-so-scientific) specialties available as sources for testimony raises hard questions. Will courts require that the witness' opinions be reasonably based upon trustworthy data? How far must judges inquire into the practice of other experts in the same field prior to allowing the trial witness to proffer an expert opinion? How much of the expert's supporting data will be received in evidence? This Essay addresses these and other important questions affecting the scope of modern expert testimony.

Modern Evidence And The Expert Witness, Faust Rossi

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Historical Truth, Narrative Truth, And Expert Testimony, Marianne Wesson

Publications

No abstract provided.

Cross-Racial Identification Errors In Criminal Cases, Sheri Johnson

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Silent Revolution, Faust Rossi

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Expert As Educator: A Proposed Approach To The Use Of Battered Woman Syndrome Expert Testimony, Meredith B. Cross

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Recent Development proposes that courts should permit the use of battered woman syndrome expert testimony, but restrict its use to informing juries of the peculiar mental and emotional state of battered women. This role of the expert as educator would serve to dispel a jury's misconceptions about battered women and, at the same time, draw the focus of the testimony away from the implication which troubled the Buhrle court--that the battered woman syndrome represents a new defense to murder.The Advisory Committee explains in a note that rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence suggests the use of expert …

A Practitioner's Guide To The Management And Use Of Expert Witnesses In Washington Civil Litigation, Thomas V. Harris

Seattle University Law Review

The Washington litigation process places a premium on the skillful management of expert witnesses. Testimony presented by such witnesses is both readily admissible and virtually unlimited in scope. Washington's adoption of the new Rules of Evidence can only serve to reinforce the current practice. Since most litigated cases involve substantial factual disputes, the development and presentation of expert testimony should be a major concern of all trial attorneys. The importance of trial examination has never been underrated. That part of the litigation process is one that all attorneys relish. The skillful management of expert witnesses, however, involves far more than …

A Look At Florida's Proposed Code Of Evidence, Charles W. Ehrhardt

Scholarly Publications

The law of evidence had been codified in three states, California, New Jersey and Kansas, prior to the United States Supreme Court's promulgation of the Proposed Federal Rules of Evidence. The submission of the rules to the Congress, and their approval, as amended, by the House of Representatives served as the catalyst for renewed interest in evidence codification. Three states have recently adopted comprehensive Rules of Evidence that closely parallel the Proposed Federal Rules, and at least four other states, including Florida, have drafted or are actively considering the adoption of such a codification. During the 1974 session of the …

Evidence Code: Opinions And Expert Testimony, Charles W. Ehrhardt

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Uncertain Rule Of Certainty: An Analysis And Proposal For A Federal Evidence Rule, The , Michael M. Martin

Faculty Scholarship

Two characteristic principles of Anglo-American evidence law are the requirement that witnesses testify only to their personal observations (the "first-hand knowledge" rule) and the prohibition against witnesses testifying to their inferences (the "opinion" rule). However, a longstanding exception to these principles permits witnesses possessed of skill or learning to draw inferences, often from facts they have not personally observed. Because such expert opinion testimony is exceptional, it is hedged about with various restrictions in addition to those such as relevancy which apply to all testimony. The predicate for admission of expert opinion testimony generally consists of two elements. First, the …

Psychologist As Expert Witness In Psychiatric Questions, Elliot R. Levine

Cleveland State Law Review

When the seeking of truth and the dispensing of justice require Wan evaluation of a litigant's mental functioning, the courts have traditionally looked to medically trained psychiatrists to serve as expert witnesses. In his private practice the psychiatrist frequently uses the consultative services of a clinical psychologist because psychological tests are more quantitative, less subjective, and more sensitive to the nuances of personality deviation than are the traditional psychiatric evaluative techniques. The psychologist can offer to the court, as well as the medical profession can, the opportunity for the utilization of the most scientific means and methods of appraising personality. …

Evidence--Medical Malpractice--Expert Testimony Of Defendant Physician When Called As Adverse Witness, K. Paul Davis

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Physician As A Witness, Robert I. Zashin

Cleveland State Law Review

As a public servant the physician, being licensed to practice medicine, has certain obligations both to the state and to his profession. His primary obligation is to give aid to his patients and offer himself as a person capable of diagnosis and treatment of human ills. It is conceded by most observers that few professions require more careful preparation than that of medicine. However, a doctor's skill is not always to be found in his office. He is now often called upon to "battle" in the courts as an expert witness. In the growing interrelationship between law and medicine, the …

The Conspiracy Of Silence: Physician's View, Carl E. Wasmuth

Cleveland State Law Review

To many a physican, law suits, courts, and occasionally law- yers themselves are anathema. Schooled in the sciences, his life is dedicated to the practice of medicine. He is a man of conviction and of purpose. He is articulate and even at times loqua- cious. These qualities would lead one to believe that the physician would be well equipped, quite willing, and capable of appearing as an expert witness in a court of law. Quite to the contrary, the physician most generally is unwilling to be a legal witness. In fact, the entire subject of law suits often is repugnant …

Special Law For Medical Specialists, Bernard R. Koehne, James G. Young

Cleveland State Law Review

We do not question the need for, or the benefits of specialization, but rather point to some of the confusion which results, in legal cases involving the medical specialist. The apparent contradiction that appears in proceedings involving specialists is illustrated by two cases where the patient's heart stopped beating while on the operating table.

Positive Handling Of The Negative X-Ray, Lawrence V. Hastings

Cleveland State Law Review

Defense counsel usually pounce on "negative" x-rays, i.e., ones which show little or no change from before to after the accident. They triumphantly parade admissions from medical witnesses that "the x-rays in the case are totally negative," before a jury which is enormously impressed through abysmal ignorance of what x-rays can and do show. Thus, the problem facing counsel for the injured party is how most persuasively to acquaint the jury with means of properly evaluating x-rays in view of their significant attributes and their deficiencies. Plaintiff's counsel must somehow explain the purpose of x-rays, augment their limited information, and/or …

Subjective Complaints V. Objective Signs, David I. Sindell, Irwin N. Perr

Cleveland State Law Review

The word "versus" in the title presents what we think is one of the most important problems of plaintiff trial lawyers today. After years of preparation, we submit our case to a jury; our medical witnesses offer testimony based on long time observation, treatment and evaluation. Then, in walks the defendant's doctor and proceeds to plunge a dagger into our case by calling our client either a malingerer or a neurotic, or just a plain liar. He testifies that he saw none of the objective signs that our medical examiners found, and concludes that all of the subjective complaints are …

The Basis Of Medical Testimony, Paul D. Rheingold

Vanderbilt Law Review

Like any other expert, the medical witness is brought into court to render an opinion upon technical issues involved in a case. Fundamental to the opinions or conclusions which the medical witness renders is a matrix of data learned, observed or related, both fact and opinion. These subsidiary items, taken together, are commonly referred to as the basis of expert testimony. Thus a doctor, in testifying on the cause of a patient's condition, for example, might refer to and rely upon what he has observed in examining the patient, upon what the patient has told him of his symptoms, and …

Competency Of Medical Witnesses As Experts On Disability In Negligence - Shivers V. Carnaggi, Donad Needle

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Intoxication And Opinion Evidence, John E. Martindale

Cleveland State Law Review

It must be said at the outset that there are many problems in connection with the rules of evidence which an article as short as this one cannot hope to touch upon. Among these is the relevance of intoxication to particular issues. It must be assumed that the evidence sought to be introduced is material and relevant. With this assumption we will consider three areas of intoxication evidence: lay opinion, expert opinion and hospital records. These are the three main areas involving the introduction of an opinion as to intoxicated condition.

Intoxication And Opinion Evidence, John E. Martindale

Cleveland State Law Review

It must be said at the outset that there are many problems in connection with the rules of evidence which an article as short as this one cannot hope to touch upon. Among these is the relevance of intoxication to particular issues. It must be assumed that the evidence sought to be introduced is material and relevant. With this assumption we will consider three areas of intoxication evidence: lay opinion, expert opinion and hospital records. These are the three main areas involving the introduction of an opinion as to intoxicated condition.

Expert Testimony, Mason Ladd

Vanderbilt Law Review

The opinion rule of exclusion and the use of expert testimony, like much of the law of evidence, developed out of the adversary system of trial. Not until the Eighteenth Century was the opinion rule established, and although the courts had used witnesses with special knowledge to assist them in obtaining needed information, expert witnesses were not used in the modern sense.' There were also inquisitorial hearings in which the inquisitors were all persons with specialized experience, but this was not similar to the use of experts today as the inquisitors determined the issue upon the basis of their own …