Home

What is a Legal Expert Witness?

A Legal Expert Witness is a person who testifies at a trial because he/she has special knowledge in a specific field that is beyond the knowledge of a common person. They are specialists in a subject and may present their expert opinion without being a witness to the occurrence related to the lawsuit or criminal case. An expert witness is permitted to state his/her opinion concerning technical matters even though they were not present at the occurrence provided that knowledge of a technical subject matter might be beneficial to a Trier of fact.

A qualified legal expert witness is allowed to testify about his/her opinion on the significance of facts, and they are an exception to the general rule prohibiting opinion as testimony. Non-expert witnesses, on the other hand, are only allowed to testify regarding facts observed and not their opinions about these facts.

The attorney for the party requesting the expert must present the expert’s qualifications should they are challenged and the trial judge has the discretion to rule if the witness is qualified as an expert, or not, or is may only testify on limited subjects that they are an expert on. Typically, expert witnesses are substantially compensated for their time and services. In most jurisdictions, proposed expert witness must be identified to the other party during the pre-trial depositions so as to gain knowledge of the grounds of testimony.

A number of factors qualify legal experts; they are based on the following, but not limited to: educational attainment, the number of years practiced in the particular field, work experience relevant to the case, training, licensing, certifications, published works, and awards and recognitions.

Some types of expert witnesses include: an arson expert, who might testify about the probable cause of a suspicious fire; actuaries, who might testify about values of businesses or pension plans; child psychologists, who might testify about the best interests of a child when visitation or custody is in dispute; and doctors, who might testify about the standard of care rendered to a plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit.