The expert has a great responsibility, and especially in penal trials, and perjury by an expert is a severely punished crime in most countries. The use of expert witnesses is sometimes criticized in the United States because in civil trials, they are often used by both sides to advocate differing positions, and it is left up to a jury to decide which expert witness to believe. Although experts are legally prohibited from expressing their opinion of submitted evidence until after they are hired, sometimes a party can surmise beforehand, because of reputation or prior cases, that the testimony will be favorable regardless of any basis in the submitted data; such experts are commonly disparaged as "hired guns."Snow, J.N., & Weed, R. (1997). Mental health forensic issues in Georgia: The role of the expert witness. Georgia Journal of Professional Counselors, 53-65.Snow, J.N. & Weed, R. (1996). Forensic issues in mental health: The role of the expert witness. Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting, 7(4), 2-13.
The expert has a great responsibility and especially in penal trials and perjury by an expert is a severely punished crime in most countries The use of expert witnesses is sometimes criticized in the United States because in civil trials they are often used by both sides to advocate differing positions and it is left up to a jury to decide which expert witness to believe Although experts are legally prohibited from expressing their opinion of submitted evidence until after they are hired sometimes a party can surmise beforehand because of reputation or prior cases that the testimony will be favorable regardless of any basis in the submitted data; such experts are commonly disparaged as "hired guns"Snow JN & Weed R (1997) Mental health forensic issues in Georgia The role of the expert witness Georgia Journal of Professional Counselors 53-65Snow JN & Weed R (1996) Forensic issues in mental health The role of the expert witness Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting 7(4) 2-13