What are the two basic purposes of cross-examination?

What are the two basic purposes of cross-examination?

The objectives of expert cross-examination, in general, are to (1) make the expert your own witness to the extent possible (e.g., agreeing to the facts important to your cause or contradicting the testimony of adverse witnesses), (2) undermine the expert’s credibility (collateral attack on bias, for example) and/or …

What is witness bias?

Bias. Courts permit parties to cross-examine a witness in order to impeach that witness based on demonstration of bias. Witness bias may be catalyzed by any number of circumstances, ranging from the witness’s blood relationship to a party to his financial stake in the outcome of the litigation.

Are expert witnesses reliable?

When a trial court, applying this amendment, rules that an expert’s testimony is reliable, this does not necessarily mean that contradictory expert testimony is unreliable. The amendment is broad enough to permit testimony that is the product of competing principles or methods in the same field of expertise.

Who is considered an expert witness?

The definition of an expert witness, according to the Federal Rule of Evidence. An expert witness is a person with specialized skill sets whose opinion may help a jury make sense of the factual evidence of a case. Testimonies from expert witnesses can have a tremendous influence on the final decision of the judge.

Can I get paid for a deposition?

A: The general answer is no, you can’t get paid. However, after discussing this issue with some litigation attorneys, there is a chance you could get paid by one of the parties to the lawsuit if you can get the judge to issue an order which requires them to pay.

What do expert witnesses do?

An expert witness gives his independent opinion in a specific field of his or her expertise, education, knowledge and experience. This opinion can be a written report and/or in person at a deposition or trial testimony in front of a Judge and jury. An expert witness will help your attorney prove the facts of your case.