Watch CSI, Law and Order and the other police dramas on television and you'll never really see an expert testify in a case. In truth, expert witnesses often play a critical part in the outcome of trials.
Nothing is simple these days and the same thing goes for trials. At first glance, a trial is just two parties arguing about different viewpoints of facts as they apply to a law. The problem, of course, is what happens when things get complex.
Expert witnesses play a subtle, but important role in litigation. They are used to explain the complex issues that arise in such a way as to make the information understandable to the average person sitting in a jury. Let's take a closer look.
Let's assume we have a case involving a traffic accident. The sides might argue who was at fault. Experts might be called to testify in regard to the speed of the cars at the time of the accident, which had right of way and so on.
While experts testify in civil cases, you probably know them more by their roles in criminal matters. Specifically, they testify as to cause of death and the all important DNA tests and results that often sink or save defendants.
All this being said, experts are not the gods of the courtroom. Why not? Since they are arguing opposite positions, they can actually become a push for jurors wherein neither is persuasive as we all saw in one famous case.
OJ Simpson was tried for the double murder of his wife and Ron Goldman. Expert testified his DNA was on evidence. Defense experts testified the evidence was flawed. They created just enough doubt that when the gloves didn't fit, he was acquitted.
As the Simpson case shows, many lawsuits can end up as a battle of the experts. This really contradicts the purpose of experts wherein they are supposed to be helping the jury understand something instead of further clouding the issue.
The role played by an expert in a trial is still critical even where the testimony of multiple experts may confuse things a bit. Some issues are simply to complex to address in any other way.
Article Source: http://www.orbitaloc.com/
Anthony Armand writes about psychiatric expert witness issues for PsychiatricExpertWitness.com.
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Article Title: How Expert Witnesses Are Involved in Lawsuits
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