|
HOW TO GAUGE THE EXPERTNESS OF YOUR
EXPERT
© Vicky Campagna,
PhD
For a pdf file of this article, click here:
It can be difficult to judge exactly the
degree of expertise your expert witness actually possesses. With
experts coming from a diversity of backgrounds, there unfortunately is
no single criterion by which you can assess everyone. Moreover, there
are plenty of spurious credentials out there, i.e. credentials which
sound impressive but which in fact are little more than “vanity boards,”
conferring their imprimatur on anyone who’s willing to pay the fee.
With
psychologists, at least, there is a way to determine whose credentials
are truly more representative of bona fide training and experience.
Check out this link:
http://www.xmission.com/~sgolding/publications/expert_voir_dire.htmStephen Golding is
a nationally-recognized forensic psychologist whose article on the voir
dire of experts is right on point. Some of his tips apply to medical
doctors as well. In general, the rule is to check out the criteria by
which the organizations from which doctor is claiming expert status are
awarded.
|
