“Expert witnesses play a critical role in the judicial process. The testimony of these professionals can swing juries, educate judges on complex technical subjects, and ultimately win lawsuits.” ~ The Expert Institute
Investigators are often contacted by legal teams to determine whether a professional is qualified to serve as an expert witness. While there are no steadfast rules, a qualified expert witness must have professional knowledge that will aid judges and juries in assessing technical facts presented in a case. When determining whether a potential expert witness would pass muster, investigators review data confirming (or not) the person’s skill level, proficiencies, education, work history, and certifications.
Where to start?
Daubert Tracker is a valuable resource for locating information on expert witnesses. The database has aggregated 213,877 case records and 122,908 expert records for all fifty states and the federal courts (and it’s updated daily!). The user-friendly website allows you to perform searches by entering an expert’s name and discipline(s), which are listed in a dropdown menu. While there are no additional identifiers required, you can limit your search by entering a court, party, judge, attorney, and a range of years.
Dauber Tracker uses the following admission criteria, among many others: The expert was unqualified, the expert’s methods were “questionable, suspicious, not valid, lacking, or inadequate;” and the testimony was not credible, speculative, irrelevant, or unreliable.
What does it cost?
If you have a subscription to LexisNexis Expert Witness, you can access the Daubert Tracker database for free. An annual subscription costs $295, while a two-hour session is $25 and a half-hour session is $10. VerdictSearch, which has over 200,000 verdicts and settlement records, is a helpful research companion to Daubert Tracker.
