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SOCIAL SCIENTISTS AS EXPERT WITNESSES: Their Use, Misuse, and Sometimes Abuse
Author(s) -
EVANS SANDRA S.,
SCOTT JOSEPH E.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
law and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.534
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1467-9930
pISSN - 0265-8240
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9930.1983.tb00295.x
Subject(s) - expert witness , adversarial system , witness , realm , subject (documents) , engineering ethics , forensic psychology , law , psychology , political science , criminology , computer science , engineering , library science
Upon entering the legal realm, the expert witness must begin to define his or her role and establish a working relationship with the attorneys. The authors recommend that relationships between the social scientist and the attorneys be subject to clear and explicit agreements and that the role of the expert witness be defined so that the social scientist maintains control of any needed research. Potential expert witnesses should be aware of the unique research problems they may encounter and be prepared to deal with these obstacles. Throughout the research, the expert should be cognizant of the adversarial setting in which the results will be presented, and must carefully document and substantiate the research accordingly. Finally, the social scientist should be aware of the potential consequences of participating as an expert witness.