About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

14 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 217 (2000-2001)
Expert Witnesses at Trial: Where Are the Ethics

handle is hein.journals/geojlege14 and id is 227 raw text is: Expert Witnesses at Trial: Where Are the Ethics? Gentlemen of the jury, there are three kinds of liars: the common liar, the damned liar, and the scientific expert. JUSTIN P. MURPHY* INTRODUCTION An expert is an individual who was not present when the incident occurred, but for a healthy fee will happily imagine what it was like and how it happened. In today's litigation, expert witness testimony plays a crucial role.3 Because of experts' important role in successful litigation,4 attorneys actively shop for those willing to support their cause,5 even at exorbitant prices.6 Today, criticism of expert witnesses is widespread throughout the legal community.7 One can find * J.D. Georgetown University Law Center, May 2001 (expected). 1. William L. Foster, Expert Testimony: Prevalent Complaints and Proposed Remedies, 11 HARV. L. REV. 169, 169 (1897). 2. See The Use and Misuse of Expert Evidence in the Courts, 77 JUDICATURE 68, 69 (1993). 3. See Randall K. Hanson, Witness Immunity Under Attack: Disarming Hired Guns, 31 WAKE FOREST L. REV. 497, 497 (1996) (stating that experts are available on every imaginable topic, and experts are even involved in ordinary lawsuits); Michael Mason, Trial and Error: Courtroom Experts May Have All the Answers, But That Doesn't Mean They're Telling True, S.F. CHRON., Feb. 20, 1994, at 5Z 1 (quoting Georgetown Professor of Law Paul Rothstein: There's not a piece of litigation that doesn't have one involved somehow.). 4. See Carol Garcia, Expert Witness Malpractice: A Solution to the Problem of the Negligent Expert Witness, 12 Miss. C.L. REv. 39, 45 (1991) (Seventy-percent of judges and lawyers indicate that juries attribute more credibility to scientific evidence than other evidence, and seventy-five percent believe that judges find scientific evidence more credible. Jurors tend to give undue weight to expert opinions because 'we're all taught to believe science is infallible.') (citations omitted); Carol Henderson Garcia, Expert Witnesses Found Credible by Most Jurors, NAT'L L.J., Feb. 22, 1993, at S4 (stating that a large majority of jurors claimed expert testimony was credible and influential in the outcome of the case). 5. See Stephanie Simon, Boom in Expert Witness Field Unfazed by Cynicism; Courts: Simpson, Menendez Cases Raise Credibility Issue, L.A. TIMEs, Apr. 15, 1996, at Metro 1 (discussing how attorneys want to work with experts who support their case and are willing to shop around for the most favorable witness); Mason, supra note 3, at 5ZI (quoting one lawyer who said you shop around 'til you find someone who's going to support your case.). 6. See Maureen Harrington, To Tell the Truth Expert Witness a Strong Force in the Courtroom, DENVER POST, Jan. 1, 1997, at G1 (explaining that one can spend $50,000 to $75,000 for experts in one whole case); Mason, supra note 3, at 5ZI (stating that experts generally make $85 to $500 per hour and up to $4,000 per day at trial); Florence Shinkle, Expert Witnesses Run Up the Bill, ST. Louis POsT-DISPATCH, Oct. 6, 1996, at 12C (stating that experts will charge $250 to $500 just to review records to see if a case is viable); Simon, supra note 5, at Metro I (top experts can make $350 an hour). 7. Timothy Perrin, Expert Witness Testimony: Back to the Future, 29 U. RICH. L. REV. 1389, 1390 (1995) (noting that the disdain for experts comes from all quarters: judges, lawyers, commentators, politicians, the media, and even experts themselves) (citations omitted). But see Charles Patrick Ewing, Expert Witnesses: Can Psychiatrists Give Reliable Testimony in Criminal Trials? Yes: Good Lawyering Can Weed Out Unscientific

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most