Role of an expert in the investigation

1. ExpErt WitnEss tEstimony
Submitted to: Submitted By:
Mr. Ketan Sir Ishwar Dhare
SVIFS, SVVV

2. EXPERT WITNESS
• An expert witness is a person whose opinion by
virtue of education , training , certification , skills or
experience, is accepted by the judge as an expert.
The judge may consider the witness's specialized
(scientific, technical or other) opinion
about evidence or about facts before the court
within the expert's area of expertise, referred to as
an "expert opinion“. Expert witnesses may also
deliver "expert evidence" within the area of their
expertise.

3. Role of expert witnesses
• Experts are relied on for opinions on severity of injury, degree
of sanity, cause of failure in a machine or other device, loss of
earnings and associated benefits, care costs, and the like.
• The tribunal itself, or the judge, can in some systems call upon
experts to technically evaluate a certain fact or action, in order
to provide the court with a complete knowledge on the
fact/action it is judging. The expertise has the legal value of an
acquisition of data. The results of these experts are then
compared to those by the experts of the parties.

4. Duties of expert
• The expert has a great responsibility, and especially in penal trials, and perjury by an
expert is a severely punished crime in most countries.
• Expert evidence is often the most important component of many civil and criminal
cases today. Fingerprint examination, blood analysis, DNA fingerprinting, and forensic
firearm examination are common kinds of expert evidence heard in serious criminal
cases. In civil cases, the work of accident analysis, forensic engineers, and forensic
accountants is usually important, the latter to assess damages and costs in long and
complex cases. Intellectual property and medical negligence cases are typical
examples.

5. • Electronic evidence has also entered the
courtroom as critical forensic evidence. Audio
and video evidence must be authenticated by
both parties in any litigation by a forensic
expert who is also an expert witness who
assists the court in understanding details
about that electronic evidence.

6. Types of expert witnesses
• Testifying experts
• If the witness needs to testify in court, the
privilege is no longer protected. The expert
witness's identity and nearly all documents used
to prepare the testimony will become
discoverable. Usually an experienced lawyer will
advise the expert not to take notes on documents
because all of the notes will be available to the
other party.

7. • Although experts can testify in any case in
which their expertise is relevant, criminal
cases are more likely to use forensic
scientists or forensic psychologists, whereas
civil cases, such as personal injury, may
use forensic engineers, forensic
accountants, employment consultants or care
experts.

8. • Educating witness
• The educating witness teaches the fact-finder (jury or,
in a bench trial, judge) about the underlying scientific
theory and instrument implementing theory. This
witness is an expert witness, called to elicit opinions
that a theory is valid and the instruments involved are
reliable. The witness must be qualified as an expert
witness, which may require academic qualifications or
specific training.

9. • Reporting witness
• Called after teaching witness leaves stand.
Usually the laboratory technician who
personally conducted the test. Witness will
describe both the test and the results. When
describing test, will venture opinions that
proper test procedures were used and that
equipment was in good working order.

10. • Non-testifying experts
• The non-testifying expert can be present at the
trial or hearing to aid the attorney in asking
questions of other expert witnesses. Unlike a
testifying expert, a non-testifying expert can be
easily withdrawn from a case. It is also possible
to change a non-testifying expert to a testifying
expert before the expert disclosure date.

11. Role of expert witnesses in ballistics
• Ballistics opinion by forensic expert witness are
highly subjective. This means that a forensic expert
witness assessment of the quality and the quantity
of the resulting tool marks (i.e. the marks imparted
from the gun to the bullet and/ or casting) and the
decisions of what does or what does not constitute
a “match” comes down to a subjective
determination based on the expert’s intuition and
experience.

12. Reference
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expert_witness

13. Thank You