Have you ever testified in court? 7

[WARose]

As an expert witness? How did it go? Did the lawyer for the other side try to undermine you by asking all kinds of seemingly irrelevant stuff (like class rank, number of times you took the PE and so on)? I’ve heard tales about that. I’ve got a friend about to give a deposition and he is kind of nervous about it. (It’s his first time doing so.)

 

[Ron]

dik...in the US, you are required to maintain a list of testimony for the last 4 years (under the federal rules of civil procedure). Many states adopt similar. I also keep a list of testimony.

Sounds like you're ahead of the game in your area.

 

[DWHA]

I have never testified, but I know a few engineers who have. They have all told me that if I ever am in the position where I will be testifying, that I should brief the attorney I am working for. Tell him what to ask. While attorneys are intellegent people, many of them do not understand engineering and do not know what questions to ask. If you are getting on the stand, you better know the engineering info about the case as well as anyone. Be sure to have your attorney ask the questions that will provide you the oppertunity to state the important facts about the case.

 

[Duwe6]

Also, be VERY careful of "is it possible" questions. D#mn few jurors understand that it is Possible that the courthouse can be obliterated by a meteor prior to the end of that day, but that the Probability is sufficiently small that the Sun may burn out in 5-million years before that courthouse is actually hit by a meteor.

They just hear you say "Yes, it is possible". 1.0 EXP -43 is meaningless to them.

This is why DNA matches are characterized as "1 chance in 20 billion, and there are only 7 billion people now living on the planet". Housewives [and most Americans] don't understand big numbers.

 

[dik]

DWHA... in addition to discussing the case with the lawyer, I also provide him with an outline of questions he can ask...

Dik

 

[IRstuff]

Haven't testified, but have seen a couple ostensible "experts" do a totally crappy job of testifying.

The major issues:
> complete lack of preparation --> Both an officer and an ER doctor remembered bupkis about the incident they were testifying about. Didn't give anyone a warm and fuzzy about what the message was
> confidence --> Part of that is being able to testify without referring to notes. A second officer at the trial answered each and every question promptly with no hesitation, and without refering to notes.
> speaking clearly --> the ER doctor was European with a relatively thick accent, made even more unintelligible by mumbling and speaking softly.
> relevancy --> the ER doctor was a pathetically poor choice since she was unable to testify to the true extent, magnitude, and probable cause of the the victim's injuries. Might not be a major issue in a civil case, though.

TTFN

FAQ731-376
Chinese prisoner wins Nobel Peace Prize

 

[charliealphabravo]

I too have wondered if the exam score or number of times one took the SE exam was discoverable. I had always thought it was not, but had an attorney bully me into believing otherwise in a depo. Now I guess it is part of the record somewhere.

An attorney with a state board suggested that one might not recall and was surprised that the question was asked. I think that it would require a judge to demand the information release from NCEES since the state board might not keep the information....but that is a pretty sad way to start a trial I think. Perhaps it is best to be bold about your record and kick them in the pants with your testimony.

Personally I don't think the information is relavent and the request should be struck down.