By James J. Mangraviti, Jr., Esq. Introduction Expert witnessing can be a challenging endeavor. Fortunately, many of the issues experts face can be mitigated or eliminated by using a well-drafted expert witness contract. The below post provides advice on what to include in your expert witness contract. At the end of this post there [...]
By James J. Mangraviti, Jr., Esq. Introduction Expert witness cross-examination can be the part of serving as an expert witness that expert’s most worry about. It shouldn’t be. A properly prepared and trained expert witness can easily survive and thrive during cross examination. In fact, for a well-trained and prepared witness, expert witness cross [...]
By James J. Mangraviti, Jr., Esq. Introduction – What is an Expert Witness? Before we delve into what is included in an expert witness report, we should briefly discuss what an expert witness is. Expert witnesses (also known as opinion witnesses) are witnesses in court cases who are allowed to offer their professional opinions [...]
The state of North Dakota does not explicitly follow either the Daubert or Frye test for the admissibility of expert witness testimony. State v. Hernandez, 707 N.W.2d 449 (N.D. 2005). However, North Dakota’s rules closely mirror the test established in Daubert. Id. Under North Dakota’s Rules of Evidence, Rule 702, experts are able to [...]
The state of Vermont follows the Daubert test for the admissibility of expert witness testimony. USGen New England, Inc. v. Town of Rockingham, 862 A.2d 269 (Vt. 2004). Under this test, the court should analyze four factors to determine if expert testimony is admissible. Id. The factors are: “(1) whether the scientific technique or [...]
By James J. Mangraviti, Jr. Esq. One of the concerns that prospective expert witnesses often express is that “I don’t have time to be in court all the time.” The belief that expert witnesses spend a significant amount of time in court is usually a false one. In fact, for most experts who are retained [...]
By James J. Mangraviti, Jr. Esq. An expert witness must be qualified to give all the opinions which the expert proposes to give in a particular case. That begs the question of who decides if an expert witness is qualified. There are actually many people who decide if an expert witness is qualified in a [...]
By James J. Mangraviti, Jr. Esq. I have had the honor and pleasure of teaching, training, and preparing expert witnesses since 1996. Over the years, I have seen expert witnesses repeatedly make the same mistakes when providing their expert witness testimony. These mistakes when providing expert witness testimony are typically 100% avoidable. The three most [...]
Introduction: Expert Witness Disclosures Persons who serve as expert witnesses are often asked to provide, or help to provide, an expert witness disclosure. In this post we will explain the purpose and required elements of an expert witness disclosure. I will also provide suggestions for experts in preparing an expert witness disclosure. What is [...]
As an attorney who trains expert witnesses I am often asked to explain or define what is an expert witness. The short answer is that an expert witness is a special kind of witness in a court case who is allowed to testify as to their opinions. In some states expert witnesses are actually [...]