An expert witness is a person who is highly trained or educated (a specialist) in a subject (often technical or medical) who may present his or her opinion with out being a witness to any occurance or event relating to the criminal or lawsuit (civil case). If the experts skills are challenged, the attorney for the party calling the "expert" must present the necessary background information through questions in court, and the trial judge has discretion to disqualify the expert or qualify the witness or rule that he or she is an expert on limited subjects. Expert witnesses often receive handsome remuneration for their testimony and the opposition has the right to ask for these accounts. In most jurisdictions, both sides must exchange the names and addresses of proposed experts to allow pre-trial depositions.
About the use of expert witnesses: The earliest known use of an expert witness in law came in England in 1782. The local court in the county of Norfolk asked civil engineer, John Smeaton to give evidence on the good construction and standing of Wells harbour. Prior to this the first forensic evidence was recorded in England in 1760 when testimony was delivered to the court in the case of Earl Ferrers who was standing trial for murder, by Dr John Munro. He had a wealth of experience with the insane which the court believed enabled him to distinguish the true features of madness.
Even in the 1950s the employment of an expert witness was still rare. However, today expert evidence is widely used in U.S, UK and English speaking law courts.
Expert evidence presented to the court should be, and should be seen to be, the independent product of the expert and impartial in all aspects.
An expert witness should provide independent assistance to the court by way of objective unbiased opinion in relation to matters within his expertise.
An expert witness should state the facts or assumptions upon which his opinion is based. He should not omit to consider material facts which could detract from his concluded opinion.
An expert witness should make it clear when a particular question or issue falls outside his expertise.
If an expert�s opinion is not properly researched because he considers that insufficient data is available, then this must be stated with an indication that the opinion is no more than a provisional one.
If the expert cannot assert that the report contains the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth without some qualification, that qualification should be stated in the report.
If, after exchange of reports, an expert witness changes his view on a material matter having read the other side�s expert�s report, or for any other reason, such change of view should be communicated (though legal representatives) to the other side without delay and (where appropriate) to the court.
Where expert evidence refers to photographs, plans, images, calculations, analyses, measurements, survey reports, or other similar documents, they must be provided to the opposite party at the same time as the exchange of reports and communications.
Today expert witness directories, such as WitnessDirectory.com list experts in thousands of different specialisations from heart surgery to dog handling.
