Richards wrote:
Amen.
I my case, I was the lawyer... and the expert never won! (But then it
was not between me or him... I was working for a client, and ...
oddly enough... I THOUGHT we were there to find the TRUTH... not
just prove a case.)
Let me add an Amen to your Amen. I agree that -truth- is the name of the
game -- and fortunately, for the cases I was involved with we truly were
in the right; the Plaintiff just figured the telco had deep pockets.
After testifying in a case before the state Public Service Commission
(that we won, by the way), the Assistant Attorney General complimented
me. I said it was easy when you had the law on your side -- the Laws of
Physics! :-)
Many lawyers make the HUGE MISTAKE of thinking it is about THEM for
some reason... and I have many times witnessed where the expert seems
to be on trial, and the lawyer is out to prove his limited
knowledge.
Sounds familiar! Although I sometimes wondered how much of their bluster
was just to razzle-dazzle their client and make him think he was getting
his money's worth.
But a little knowledge is a very dangerous thing and juries much
prefer humility and cooperation and courtesy. Te fact is, I am just
there to tell a story. And it is not MY story, either.
So I applaud you guys because I have been there and watched what you
are referring to - and I won my cases because we were on the same
page as the experts. Just trying to tell a story, and let the jury
decide what really happened, and who was at fault. An expert is
only someone who has such specialized knowledge sufficient to allow
him to render an opinion - and not be bound to just telling the
facts. Otherwise, as the one feller said, it is "Just the facts,
ma'am" for everyone.
So, yes, I have watched too many sparring matches between lawyer and
witness, which does the client a huge mis-service, actually, as it
appears to the jury like a desperate attempt to tell fiction.
Well, what do you do when you see a juror sleeping? Ran into that once
and it greatly concerned me...although we won that one too.
====================== Richards - K8JHR ================
On 2/19/2010 7:17 AM, Carter wrote:
>> The real fun came from the cases where some lawyer thought he
>> could show me up on cross-examination. Not once did the lawyer
>> win.
> Been there, done that!
>
> I was the forensic expert for a large telcom and spent my share of
> time in court...and no, not once did the opposing lawyer win. They
> all mostly seem to have forgotten the lawyer's Golden Rule of never
> asking a question to which they don't know the answer. :-)
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