Testimonials for The Reliable Expert Witness
“Excellent and thorough resource for expert witness work. Insightful and cleverly written by Mark Tottenham. Highly recommend.” – Justin Masterson, Civil engineer and arbitrator, with international project management experience, on large-scale infrastructure projects, April 2023 – link “This book is a must read.” – Christophe Champod PhD, Professor of Forensic Science, University of Lausanne. “Comprehensive and […]
The 13 duties of expert witnesses in common law courts
Too many expert witnesses in common law courts find themselves in hot water, because they don’t understand what is expected of them. If you want to be a reliable expert witness, here are the 13 simple duties you MUST be aware of: 1. Tell the truth, both in oral evidence and in written reports. Do […]
Employer attempting to block employees from giving expert evidence
In a voting right case in Florida, the University of Florida has barred its academic staff from giving expert evidence. More here: https://www.npr.org/2021/10/30/1050817670/university-florida-professors-free-speech-voting-rights?t=1635697496279
Testator held to have lacked testamentary capacity despite expert evidence to the contrary
In the recent case of Hughes v Pritchard [2021] EWHC 1580, the judge found that a testator had lacked testamentary capacity notwithstanding expert evidence to the contrary. The testator had a history consistent with dementia, including lapses of memory and behavioural changes from 2014. He made a new will in 2016 following the death of […]
Duty on expert witness to disclose relevant material
A new judgment by the High Court of England and Wales emphasises the duties of experts to co-operate with each other in the sharing of relevant information. The case, Dana UK AXLE Ltd v Freudenberg FST GmbH [2021] EWHC 1413 (TCC) (26 May 2021), concerned the failure of pinion seals fitted to rear axles of […]
Flawed pathological evidence in homicide case
In this 1998 case -R. v. Patrick Nicholls [1998] EWCA Crim 1918 – a man was convicted of murder and robbery, and served 23 years in prison before having his conviction overturned. A pathologist suggested that the deceased had been suffocated and suffered heart failure as the result of an assault. He had initially thought […]
Roles of expert, judge and lawyer concerning expert evidence
“The Ontario Court of Appeal in Parliament v. Conley, 2021 ONCA 261 has provided a refresher for judges, experts and counsel on the roles each plays when dealing with expert evidence: 1. Judges must exercise their gatekeeping role throughout the testimony of expert witnesses; 2. Experts must stick to the area of his or her expertise and […]
Expert evidence in immigration cases
A new decision of the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) has considered the expert evidence that can be adduced in such hearings. The issue concerned allegations of torture in Sri Lanka of members of Tamil political groups. “The duties of experts when providing evidence to courts and tribunals have been the subject of numerous […]
The competence of an arbitrator in enforcing the duties of expert witnesses
A useful article on the Kluwer Arbitration Blog about the use of expert witnesses in arbitration. A question arises as to whether part-appointed expert’s duty to the arbitration is the same as it would be in court, where it is understood that the primary duty is to the court itself. The article also addresses the […]
Expert evidence required to verify source of text messages
In a recent case, the Ontario Court of Appeal allowed an appeal from the conviction of a man for firebombing his ex-wife’s house. Messages sent on various apps had not been subjected to examination to see whether they could have been sent to ‘frame’ the accused for the offence. In R. v. Aslami, 2021 ONCA […]