Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Engineering Expert Witness: What You Should Know

By Andrew Stevens


The idea of having an expert witness in a case is usually supported by attorneys in a court case regardless of which side they are on. Most argue that having an engineering expert witness or any other type of expert witness is the only way to understand a technical case beyond the legalities and theories. This makes the case understandable to those listening to the arguments to pass the judgment.

An expert witness is usually defined as a person who has a lot of education regarding a particular subject that relates to a case more than the average person. In most cases, this is a professional with special skills who can evaluate and assess a case better especially because of his or her specialty.

For one to be called upon to be an expert witness, the court must be able to accept him or her. The witness testifies under oath to explain the technical matters of a case. He or she can also be asked to provide a professional opinion.

The expert witness should be ready to accept the opinions that may be derived from his or her testimony. That is why it is important for him or her to have enough information regarding the case being determined. This allows the professional to provide and draw a conclusion that is valid for the case.

It is not the role of the expert engineer witness to argue the facts of the case. He or she does not provide evidence like other witnesses or the police in a criminal investigation. The expert is called upon to clarify the technology in use and help the judge or jury understand the technicalities of the case.

It is common in most of the court cases for the defense and prosecution to provide an expert witness to help them argue their case. The witness called upon must remain loyal to the technical knowledge and not have a side. The goal of the witness is to provide an accurate assessment that helps the judge and jury decide on the case. The jury or judge base their determination partly on the opinion of the technical information provided by the expert witness.

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.

The defense and prosecution attorney has the discretion of engaging any expert they think will help them win the case. Once the attorney identifies the expert witness, he or she must get the qualifications and all credentials for the expert to present them to court before the witness can testify. The judge and jury will need this information to be able to allow the opinion of the expert witness to be used to determine the judgment.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment