The first in a series of articles suggesting ways to successfully present Expert Testimony in your Insurance Case.
It seems pretty basic to tell your own Expert, who has just arrived at the Trial in your client's case, how the Judge has ruled before the Expert arrived. But in my experience in the rare case the retaining attorney will not think to advise the Expert about the Judge's earlier rulings in the Trial.
The retaining attorney after all has been there from the beginning of the Trial and has attended Trial every day. She or he knows the Judge's rulings during Trial very well.
However, the newly arrived Expert does not know any of the rulings which the Judge made earlier in the Trial unless the Expert is told. It is up to the one who knows -- the retaining attorney and her or his trial team -- to advise the arriving Expert, who does not know.
It may be another rarity, but the subject of whether the Expert was advised of the Judge's rulings at Trial has in my experience been asked during cross-examination of the Expert. If the cross-examiner correctly states the Judge's rulings, it is important for the Expert to know them before the opposing attorney says what they are.
The retaining attorney should of course object if the cross-examining attorney misstates the Judge's rulings. If there is no objection, the Jury may be led to believe that the opposing attorney stated the Judge's rulings correctly even if she or he did not state them correctly.
© 2013 by Dennis J. Wall. All rights reserved. No claim to original U.S. Government works.
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