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A defense expert witness is called during a jury trial to testify for the defendant. The witness has specialized training and education, and is expected to sway the jury with evidence. Both prosecution and defense attorneys attempt to sway the jury, but it is difficult to predict and control group dynamics. The defendant’s attorney hires a defense expert to convince the jury of the facts of the case. The court permits the defense expert to present his conclusions provided that his testimony is based on reliable facts and methods. Jurors must determine which expert is more credible. Expert witnesses have been used to testify about things from mental health to the economy.
A defense expert witness is someone who is called during a jury trial to testify for the defendant. The witness typically has specialized training, skills, and education significant to be recognized as an expert on a particular subject by the court. Generally, the defense calls the expert witness in the hope that the evidence provided by the witness will sway the jury to his side.
Jury trial, as practiced in many Western countries, involves a group of individuals who are sworn to render a fair verdict on their belief in the events of a case, often to find a person or entity guilty or not guilty of a crime . In general, jury trial evolved from medieval England. Indeed, Magna Carta addressed the importance of a trial of equals as early as 1215.
In a jury trial, both the prosecution and the defense attorney attempt to sway the jury members with arguments, evidence, and witness testimony. Lawyers understand that a large number of factors are at play in the group dynamics that occur as juries deliberate and attempt to reach a consensus. These are difficult to predict and control. It is widely believed that the best way to sway a jury is through damning evidence and information. The defendant’s attorney, therefore, will often hire a defense expert – whose testimony they hope will be seen as refuted above – in an attempt to convince the jury of the facts of the case.
A defense expert will be presented to the jury with his or her credentials so that jurors have an idea of what qualifies this witness as an expert and to impress upon them the significance of his findings. The court permits the defense expert to present his conclusions provided that his testimony is based on reliable facts and methods and that he has applied these methods appropriately to the information regarding the case. While he must legally share evidence he may have uncovered both in support of and against the defendant, the defense counsel typically knows before hiring the expert what he is likely to say while in the dock based on his prior process experience or published attitudes. This witness can sometimes be reproached with his own expert witness, refuting the defense witness. In one of the shortcomings of the jury system, jurors, most likely laymen on the matter at hand, will have to determine which expert is more credible.
Overall, the scope of CTU is constantly evolving. The earliest known expert witness was a civil engineer and since that time, expert witnesses have been used to testify about things from mental health to the economy. As technology becomes more prevalent in legal cases, defense experts are being called upon more and more.
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