The Role Of Expert Witnesses In A Trial
You may have heard of expert witnesses being hired to give their opinions during a court case. They do so based on their expertise in a specific field. In this article, we share with you more about the role of expert witnesses in a deposition or trial.
Who are Expert Witnesses?
Expert witnesses are individuals who have more knowledge than the average person in a specific field. Their role is to provide independent, impartial, and unbiased opinions in a trial. This is in contrast to witnesses, who are not permitted to share their opinions in a trial. Their statements would be limited to factual events that are within their personal knowledge. Expert witnesses possess expertise that a layperson does not have, allowing them to resolve relevant disputes that have arose.
Who Qualifies as Expert Witnesses?
Expert witnesses are professionals in their field and well-known names in the industry can be engaged as expert witnesses. They need to be able to show proof of their expertise in the field to the appointing party and should have no conflict of interest with either side. If there is a perceived conflict of interest, it can affect the expert witness’s ability to act impartially. On the subject of service of process, there are only 2 qualified expert witnesses in the United States. Nelson Tucker, CEO of Process Service Network, is one of them.
What do Expert Witnesses do?
It is important to remember that expert witnesses are not bound to the party who engaged them, but to the court or tribunal. These expert witnesses are not engaged to express opinions in support of the client’s case unless the evidence and their knowledge points that way. If a defendant wishes to engage an expert witness to that purpose, they can be turned down as it would be compromising the expert witness’s independence.
An expert witness will produce a report stating their opinion based on the evidence provided and their own knowledge. If a team assisted the expert witness in producing this report, they must agree with every detail in it.
What Is the Difference Between an Expert Witness and an Expert Adviser?
While expert witnesses are answerable to the court, not the party that engaged them, an expert adviser is not. Expert witnesses provide independent opinions that are not swayed by the position of the appointing party. However, an expert adviser does not give testimonies in court, and they can advise the defendant on case strategies and many more.
Why Engage Expert Witnesses from Process Service Network?
If you are looking to engage an expert witness for your deposition or trial, look no further than Process Service Network to get the job done. Our in-house expert has over 43 years of experience testifying in court for both plaintiffs and defendants. Our scope of expertise includes forensic evidence analysis, best practices and industry standards for process servers, credibility assessments and more.
If you would like more information about our services or to engage an expert witness for service of process issues, please do not hesitate to contact us today.
