Section 10.16 The Expert

• Library: Civil Trial Practice 2015 Supp

IV. (§10.16) The Expert

An effective cross-examination of an expert witness can rarely be conducted without a great deal of advance preparation. See Chapter 16 of this deskbook.

In order to properly cross-examine an expert witness, counsel must become something of an expert him- or herself. There is no shortcut and no substitute for hard work in obtaining this expertise. Counsel should consult with other experts, study learned treatises, study medical records or other records involved, and otherwise educate him- or herself as much as possible in the area of the anticipated subject matter of the cross-examination. Frequently, the attorney who is well-prepared as to the specific points in the case may successfully impeach the assumptions on which the expert’s opinions rest.

Counsel should, of course, prepare to effectively attack the credibility of experts who are vulnerable. Can the witness’s credentials as an expert be impeached? Perhaps a medical expert has not obtained board certification in the specialty of which he or she purports to be an expert. Perhaps the expert is a frequent witness and earns a large percentage of his or her income from testifying. The expert may then appear to the jury as a professional or habitual witness who is more expert in being a witness than on the subject in which he or she claims expertise.

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