Providing expert medical testimony

Medical Expert Testimony *

That sort of capacity which involves not the organic powers, moral and mental, requisite for all testimony, nor yet the emotional power of unbiased observation and statement, but the skill to acquire accurate conceptions which may be termed experiential capacity. The person possessing it is commonly called an expert. This capacity may be obtained by special training or experience, or by both. I...

Sexual assault nurse examiners' experiences providing expert witness court testimony.

Nurses from a national random sample of SANE programs were interviewed about their most recent experience providing expert witness court testimony (N = 110). Forty-three percent of the SANEs characterized this experience "fine" with no difficulties, but 58% mentioned that they had encountered problems. Challenges they faced while testifying are explored in depth and implications for forensic nu...

Medical societies' self-policing of unprofessional expert testimony.

Confessions and expert testimony.

In this clinical paper, the author discusses criminal confessions from the point of view of the expert witness who may be asked to comment on the reliability of the statement and waiver of rights. From the time a suspect is in police custody, constitutional protections against self-incrimination and for due process are in place. The Supreme Court set the standard for these situations in the 196...

Accuracy and expert testimony.

In an article in the journal Science, Faust and Ziskin have asserted that the testimony of psychologists and psychiatrists cannot "meet legal standards for expertise" for purposes of trial evidence. ' This assertion, given visibility and credence by a journal of the stature of Science, understandably has raised concern among forensic mental health profess i o n a l ~ . ~ Attorneys have begun to...