Dr. Stanley Tocker, who has testified in over 25 legal cases
as a consultant and
expert witness,
recently shared some insight into his experiences as an expert witness.
Q: What makes a good expert witness?
Tocker: First, you must know your subject, especially the
particular area involved in the case in which you are testifying. Then, you
must be able to document your expertise, through academic credentials and/or
in-depth experience. Finally, you must look and sound as if you know your
stuff.
Q: Why are expert witnesses needed?
Tocker: Prevailing in technical law cases often depends
almost as much on the quality of experts as on the skill of attorneys. By
quality I mean not only knowledge and credibility but also such factors as
stage presence, creativity and self-control in court appearances.
Q: Why are an expert witness's qualifications so
important?
Tocker: Opposing counsel can challenge your qualifications
as an expert witness, in order to reduce the impact of your report and
testimony. This challenge can range from probing questions - intended to
embarrass you or throw you off your stride - to questions about your school
grades, your licenses, your moral standing,
or your other witness work. You can't get impatient
- sometimes you have to have a thick skin.
Q: Can you give us a personal experience about this?
Tocker: Recently I sat through a five-hour deposition while
five attorneys were trying to disparage my credibility and testimony. The
first 90 minutes were a tedious review of my background, as well as irrelevant
personal questions which were clearly an attempt to show that I was a
"hired gun" who could not be trusted. Later they asked many questions
related to the substance of the case in many different ways, to attempt to
discover a contradiction.
Q: Should you agree to be an expert witness in every
case?
Tocker: No - only in those cases in which, in good
conscience, you can testify honestly and objectively. You should ask the
attorney who retained you for all information he or she has about the case –
both positive and negative – to make an informed decision about whether to
testify. You should think of yourself as a teacher instead of an advocate for
the party that retained you.