Saturday, March 9, 2019

Engineering Expert Witness: What You Should Know

By Andrew Stevens


Attorneys usually support the introduction of an expert witness in a court case for either side. Most of them argue that an engineering expert witness can help explain the technical case over and above the legal jargon and theories. This makes it easy for those determining the case to understand the facts better and pass judgment.

An expert witness can be defined as an individual who has vast education or training in a particular subject more than the average person. He or she is likely to be a professional with a special skill who can assess and evaluate the conditions of a case and relate it to his or her specialty.

An engineer acting as an expert witness needs to be accepted by the court. He or she should be in a position to testify under oath regarding the technical details of a case. Thereafter provide his or her opinion or conclusion about the matter in question.

When an expert witness provides his or her conclusion in a case, he or she should be ready to accept the opinions derived from it. It is important that the witness also understand the matters of the case before evaluating it. This allows him or her to form a valid opinion and draw a conclusion that is useful to the case.

As an expert witness, one should never argue about the facts of the case. You are also not allowed to provide or add any evidence to the case. This is a role that is left to the other witnesses in the case including the police. One is only allowed to assist the judge or jury to understand the technical matters in the case.

In most court scenarios, both sides of the case, whether the defense or prosecution will bring in an expert witness to support either side. The professionals need to be loyal to their knowledge regarding the technology rather than either side in the case. Their work is to help the judge and jury get an accurate assessment of the technical matter in the case. The jury or judge will thereafter determine if the technical witness was helpful in analyzing the facts of the case.

Anyone seeking to be an engineer expert witness needs to have a strong technical relationship with the matter in the case. This kind of witness is preferred since he or she has technical education and knowledge. An academic witness who has never been outside of a classroom may not be ideal as they do not have the practical and technical education to support the theory.

It is up to the prosecution or defense attorney to determine which of the experts should be engaged in a case to help them win it. Once an expert witness is identified, the attorney must present the expert in the case and state his or credentials including the years of experience and study in the technical field. When determining the case, the judge or jury will refer to the experience and credibility of the expert witness to support the expert opinion.




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