The expert has a great responsibility, and especially in penal trials, and perjury by an expert is a severely punished crime in most countries. The results of these experts are then compared to those by the experts of the parties. The expertise has the legal value of an acquisition of data. The tribunal itself, or the judge, can in some systems call upon experts to technically evaluate a certain fact or action, in order to provide the court with a complete knowledge on the fact/action it is judging. In the majority of cases, the expert's personal relation to the defendant is considered and usually adjudged to be irrelevant. In an intellectual property case an expert may be shown two music scores, book texts, or circuit boards and asked to ascertain their degree of similarity. Typically, experts are relied on for opinions on severity of injury, degree of sanity, cause of failure in a machine or other device, loss of earnings and associated benefits, care costs, and the like. They are called to testify under the assumption that all the preparation required for a competent evaluation of the process has been made. Expert witnesses are obligated to study the processes prior to making a survey or postpone the assignment prior to potentially missing the target due to lack of specific condition understanding. The main responsibilities of expert witnesses are to evaluate potential problems, defects, deficiencies, or errors only when able to fully appreciate a process or system. Expert witnesses are present in litigation to explain complicated scientific issues, not to influence the jury or judge with fervor. RoleĮxpert witnesses are called upon in the court system to serve as an objective party to the lawsuit and never function as an advocate for one side or the other. The decision by the English Court to allow for an expert to provide contextual background and detail on a case is often cited as the root of modern rules on expert testimony. In this particular case, the court was hearing litigation regarding the silting of Wells Harbor in Norfolk and allowed leading civil engineer, John Smeaton, to provide scientific rationale behind the proposed legislation.
The concept of allowing an expert witness to testify in a court setting and provide opinionated evidence on the facts of other witnesses was first introduced by Lord Mansfield in the case of Folkes v. The codified use of expert witnesses and the admissibility of their testimony and scientific evidence has developed significantly in the Western court system over the last 250 years.
Similarly, the Roman Empire recognized midwives, handwriting experts and land surveyors as legal experts. For example, in ancient Babylonia, midwives were used as experts in determining pregnancy, virginity and female fertility. The forensic expert practice is an ancient profession. Their testimony may be rebutted by testimony from other experts or by other evidence or facts. Expert witnesses may also deliver "expert evidence" within the area of their expertise. The judge may consider the witness's specialized (scientific, technical or other) opinion about evidence or about facts before the court within the expert's area of expertise, to be referred to as an "expert opinion". ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Īn expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as an expert. JSTOR ( September 2007) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.
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