It’s always been surprising to us how many expert witnesses – even
experienced ones – believe that since they are the “expert,” a jury
is automatically going to accept what they say. Those of us who work
with jurors (and witnesses) for a living know better.

As we’ve discussed previously in this space, the American public’s
trust in institutions – and by extension, experts – has declined
sharply in recent years. People have become more skeptical of those
from lofty places, and a PhD or esteemed physician telling jurors
“just trust me” isn’t going to cut it any more.

Jurors are also keenly aware that experts are paid for their
testimony and wouldn’t be there if they didn’t support the attorneys’
theory of the case. As such, jurors have their antennae up for any
indication the witness is just a “hired gun” who is “in the bag” for
one side or the other.

Amid such skepticism, we believe it’s more important than ever for
expert witnesses to support their opinions with outside resources –
not just the expertise in their own heads. Jurors quite reasonably
want to see proof that the expert’s opinion is valid and he or she
isn’t an outlier in their field.

From our perspective, one of the biggest and most frequent mistakes
we see expert witnesses make – especially during depositions – is
being unable to cite specific literature supporting their opinions.
Experts will sometimes assert that their opinion is supported by the
body of literature as a whole but be reduced to stammering when

asked to provide specific examples – a cringe-worthy moment that can
only hurt their credibility with the jury.

Unless your expert’s opinion truly is an outlier, the inability to
provide specific literature references is nothing more than a lack of
preparation. In most cases, an expert can find the support he or she
needs to bolster their case with little more than an hour or two
poking around in databases.

This is one place you can help your expert prepare. High-profile
experts at the top of their fields aren’t used to having their
professional knowledge challenged – especially if they testify
infrequently. You can help them bolster their testimony by
encouraging them to find articles supporting their opinions, and even
doing a little of the legwork for them by

searching the literature yourself.

Another useful source of outside support for expert opinions are the
recommendations and research of professional societies and
organizations. An expert’s opinion is likely to be much more
credible if he or she can refer to, for example, the American Academy
of Pediatrics or the American Society of Civil Engineers for support.

Finding outside support for your expert’s testimony isn’t usually
difficult, and it can give your case the edge that puts it over the
top. If you have an expert whose credibility could use a boost, we’d
love to help. Contact Senior Vice President Claire Luna at
cluna@juryimpact.net or 714.754.1010 to find out more.