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An expert witness or professional witness is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially (and legally) rely upon the witness's specialized (scientific, technical or other) opinion about an evidence or fact issue within the scope of their expertise, referred to as the expert opinion, as an assistance to the fact-finder. Expert witnesses may also deliver expert evidence about facts from the domain of their expertise. At times, their testimony may be rebutted with a learned treatise, sometimes to the detriment of their reputations.
Typically, experts are relied on for opinions on severity of injury, degree of insanity, cause of failure in a machine or other device, loss of earnings, care costs, and the like. In an intellectual-property case, an expert may be shown two music scores, book texts, or circuit boards and asked to ascertain their degree of similarity.
The tribunal itself, or the judge, can in some systems call upon experts to technically evaluate a certain fact or action, in order to provide the court with a complete knowledge on the fact/action it is judging. The expertise has the legal value of an acquisition of data. The results of these experts are then compared to those by the experts of the parties.
The expert has a heavy responsibility, especially in penal trials, and perjury by an expert is a severely punished crime in most countries. The use of expert witnesses is sometimes criticized in the United States because in civil trials, they are often used by both sides to advocate differing positions, and it is left up to a jury of laymen to decide which expert witness to believe. Sometimes one side has utilized an expert witness to provide fraudulent or junk science testimony in order to convince a jury. Such experts are commonly disparaged as "hired guns."
The Role Of An Expert Witness & Their Benefits:
The role of expert witnesses is to bring clarity to the jury. That being said, it doesn't always work out that way. We are a litigious society. Instead of picking up weapons, we sue each other. Ah, but what if the subject matter of the case is so complex that most of us can't figure it out. You know - something like programming your old VCR.
In cases covering complex subjects, it is often advisable to retain an expert witness. The expert has a number of roles. First, he or she consults with the attorney regarding the merits of the case. Second, the expert is charged with reviewing all the evidence and authoritative subjects on the matter. Third, the expert is charged with rendering an opinion regarding the subject. Fourth, the expert witness has the task of explaining a complex subject in such a way that a jury can readily understand it.
The role of expert witnesses has really grown over the last 20 years or so. The decision to televise high profile cases has turned them into semi-celebrities. This has introduced ego to the situation and, in the opinion of some, the cynical situation where certain experts are willing to say anything for a buck.
What is clear is the proliferation of witnesses has created a unique legal strategy. Some attorneys use experts to simply attack and confuse the issue in relation to what the opposing expert is testifying about. This classic situation arose during the OJ Simpson murder trial.
The prosecution was relying heavily on DNA evidence while prosecuting O.J. DNA evidence can be very convincing, so the defense brought in experts to attack the evidence and the prosecution experts. The experts went back and forth for days on end. By the end of the testimony, the jury was undoubtedly bored silly and confused. Then the prosecution made the blunder of the decade by having OJ try on the infamous gloves. When confronted with confusing DNA or gloves that don't fit, we all know what the jury went with.
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