US peace groups file constitutional challenge to Iraq war
Wednesday, May 14, 2008

[JURIST] A coalition of anti-war activists represented by the Constitutional Law Clinic at Rutgers University Law School-Newark [academic website] Tuesday filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF; press release, PDF] in US District Court for New Jersey seeking a declaratory judgment that the war in Iraq ..

Tyco settles securities fraud lawsuit with New Jersey for $73 million
Thursday, May 1, 2008

[JURIST] Tyco International [corporate website] Wednesday reached an agreement with the state of New Jersey to settle a lawsuit [case materials] alleging that insider trading at the company cost the state $100 million in state employee pension funds. Under the settlement terms, Tyco will pay $73 ..

NY appeals court upholds Port Authority negligence verdict in 1993 WTC bombing
Wednesday, April 30, 2008

[JURIST] A New York appeals court has upheld [opinion text] a jury's finding that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was negligent [JURIST report] in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center [BBC backgrounder] by Islamic radicals that killed six and injured 1,000. The jury found in ..

New Jersey high court rules subpoena needed to obtain Internet user records
Monday, April 21, 2008

[JURIST] The New Jersey Supreme Court [official website] Monday ruled [PDF text] that Internet service providers may not turn over users' personal information to police or other agencies unless they obtain a valid grand jury subpoena when the information sought relates to an indictable offense. ..

Parmalat fraud suit against Citigroup can proceed: judge
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

[JURIST] A New Jersey Superior Court judge ruled [PDF text] Tuesday that a $7 billion lawsuit [JURIST report] filed by Italian dairy giant Parmalat SpA [corporate website] against Citigroup [corporate website] could go forward on a claim that Citigroup aided and abetted former Parmalat executives ..

ICE sued over 'illegal' immigration raids
Thursday, April 3, 2008

[JURIST] Law enforcement officials from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) [official website] violated the constitutional privacy and due process rights of suspected illegal aliens by raiding their homes [CSJ backgrounder], according to a complaint [PDF text] filed in New Jersey ..

Fort Dix plot accomplice sentenced to 20 months in prison
Monday, March 31, 2008

[JURIST] New Jersey US District Judge Robert Kugler Monday sentenced Albanian Kosovar refugee Agron Abdullahu [criminal complaint, PDF], one of the six men arrested [JURIST report] in May for plotting an attack on New Jersey's Fort Dix [official website], to 20 months in prison. In October 2007, ..

Supreme Court rules for Delaware in state water boundary dispute
Monday, March 31, 2008

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] ruled Monday that New Jersey and Delaware have "overlapping authority" to control "extraordinary" construction projects along the Delaware River. The Court's decision came in New Jersey v. Delaware [Medill case backgrounder; ..

New Jersey civil union law not ensuring rights of same-sex couples: report
Tuesday, February 19, 2008

[JURIST] A New Jersey civil union law has not been able to effectively ensure that same-sex couples receive the same rights and privileges as heterosexual couples because of federal law, according to an official report [PDF text] issued Tuesday by the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission (NJ- ..

Merck settles Medicaid fraud, kickback lawsuits
Friday, February 8, 2008

[JURIST] New Jersey pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck [corporate website] has agreed to pay $671 million to settle claims [press release, PDF] that it defrauded Medicaid and improperly marketed three of its drugs to doctors, federal prosecutors said Thursday. The settlement [PDF text] stems from ..

Fort Dix plot suspects charged with attempted murder
Wednesday, January 16, 2008

[JURIST] Additional charges, including attempted murder, were filed Tuesday against the alleged plotters of an attack on Fort Dix [official website]. The US Attorney for New Jersey declined to say why the attempted murder charge was added, but a grand jury found that there was sufficient evidence ..

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08
Jan

Some Thoughts on Expert Testimony

What is an expert? When should one be used? Will the Court permit their testimony? What is an expert opinion? Part of that issue is addressed by the Rules of Evidence.

Rule 702. Testimony by Experts reads as follows:

If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise.

The Rule is clear and generally answers the queries above. Specifically, it is the purpose here to discuss “net opinion”. A net opinion is one based solely on a conclusion. For example, if the question was why did the machine fail to work properly and the expert’s answer was only “because the design was improper”. Clearly, this answer would help no one. To be permitted to state this conclusion, the expert must have an opinion which is based upon the facts and apply their expertise to those facts; fro example a conclusion that the design was improper because there was no guard over the blades and this would have prevented the occurrence.

In order to back up his opinion, an expert may rely on texts that are authoritative or written standards. It is not critical that this be done. Rather, the expert may rely on a wealth of personal knowledge. For example, I have worked as a mechanic my whole life and I know how every automotive braking system works. I have repaired most and I know why they fail. This testimony would be admissible without written or oral back-up by a third person. A jury does not have to accept an expert’s opinion although they may do so based solely on his or her experience or because his or her experience, when added to writings, makes him or her credible. What allows a finder of the fact to hear testimony should not be confused with whether or not they will accept it. A 2003 opinion of the N.J. Appellate Division in the case of Henley v. Demetrios (unreported) clearly illustrates the principles set forth.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 at 2:46 pm and is filed under Trial Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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