Understanding the Role of the Court-Appointed Expert

Court-appointed experts assist judges in a number of ways:

• By evaluating the testimony of dueling experts.   In these cases, the independent expert can report to the judge —typically in a written report or testimony at a hearing—on the strengths and weaknesses of the testimony of the parties’ experts, including which side’s arguments seem more reasonable.
• By testifying at trial.  Although most lawsuits filed in American courts settle or are dismissed prior to trial, court-appointed experts can be expected to testify at a bench trial.
• By writing a report without follow-up deposition or trial testimony.   
• By advising on rulings involving electronic discovery.  Judges are increasingly faced with discovery requests that involve one party examining material or processes on the opposing party’s computer system. 
• By conducting an independent evaluation.   In some cases, judges can request an expert to conduct an independent test —for example, on a product—to determine whether it was possible that the product could fail to function properly, as alleged by the plaintiff in a product liability suit.

“Court-Appointed Scientific Experts:  Providing Objective Scientific Advice to the Judiciary” by Deborah C. Runkle
From Scientific Evidence:  Current Issues at the Crossroads of Science, Technology and the Law, Monograph No. 7
ABA Section of Science and Technology Law
By Cynthia H. Cwik and Helen E. Witt

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