Deck 10: Expert Witnesses

Question 1

If a party is also an expert, may the party's expert opinions be discovered?

Answer 1

Yes. A party is not a "retained or specially" employed expert. Rule 26 is generally understood to apply only to non-parties. Consequently, a party's deposition may be taken, and a party may be asked questions which involve expert opinions if that party qualifies as an expert in the particular subject. In a malpractice action where the defendant is a professional, he or she may be interrogated during discovery and at trial about his or her relevant expert opinions.

Question 2

A witness must as an expert before the court will allow the witness to express any expert opinions.

Answer 2

qualify

Question 3

If a party elects to take the deposition of another party's expert witness, who must pay the expert's fee?

Answer 3

The parties ordinarily stipulate who will pay the expert's fee to testify in a discovery deposition. If the parties cannot agree, a court will decide. The court has broad discretion. The court may require the parties to share the fee or place a limit on the amount a party must pay. The decision as to which party should pay the expert's fee depends significantly on the reason why the deposition is being taken.

Question 4

Unlike federal courts, most state courts do not routinely permit a party to take the deposition of an opposing party's expert witnesses. Describe the circumstances that may cause a court to order a party to allow his or her expert witness to be deposed.

Question 5

What type of information should a paralegal try to obtain so that the legal team will be prepared to cross-examine the opponent's expert witness?

Question 6

What factors determine whether a person qualifies as an expert witness?

Question 7

What factors determine whether a court will allow the parties to present expert witness testimony?

Question 8

Expert testimony is particularly helpful in establishing a prima facie case of professional malpractice by testifying to professional .

Question 9

With respect to those experts who will not testify at trial, Rule 26 precludes discovery of those experts' reports, except in rare circumstances.

Question 10

Expert witnesses may be allowed to testify concerning ultimate questions of fact in some cases.

Question 11

It is not uncommon for parties to provide the opposing party with a copy of the expert's report even when the court's rules do not require such exchanges.

Question 12

The use of expert witness testimony is one of the most important
to the rule against opinion evidence.

Question 13

DEFINE
reasonable certainty

Question 14

The jury should decide the case on the basis of the evidence they were allowed to hear and the expert opinions expressed in books that one or more of the jurors know about.

Question 15

Who pays the expert for his or her time spent in preparing answers to inter- rogatories?

Question 16

In keeping with the adversarial nature of our legal system, it would not be unethical to supply a false report to the opposing party.

Question 17

The practice in most states is to require parties to produce reports from experts that they have retained and expect to testify at trial.

Question 18

What is meant by the "grounds" for an expert's opinion?

Question 19

Experts are allowed to use their education, training, and experience to form an which they may express to the jury to help the jury to understand disputed facts or the application of the evidence to the disputed facts.

Question 20

DEFINE
curriculum vitae

Question 21

List several ways in which experts can provide assistance.
a. Testify at trial.
b. Review the client's claim or defense for the purpose of determining how to go about gathering evidence to develop and support the client's position.
c. Experts can identify sources of information, such as the identity of other experts who can provide advice and testimony.
d. Experts can identify relevant literature and how to obtain it.
e. Experts can help start the investigation on the right path by postulating how and why the problem arose.

Question 22

In discovering an expert's opinions, do the same rules of relevancy apply that are applicable to other areas of discovery?

Question 23

May a retained expert provide information to the party who hires him or her that is not included in the expert's report which is provided to the other parties?

Question 24

If a party serves an interrogatory asking for disclosure of the identity of any experts who have been consulted but who are not expected to testify, must the interrogatory be answered?