Comprehending the Real Purpose of an Expert Witness Deposition

Comprehending the Real Purpose of an Expert Witness Deposition

It's a big test, an oral exam. By this point everyone involved has read your report so they already know what you have to say - your procedure, your conclusions, etc. But they do not know how well you can say it. In a trial, you speak directly to the jury, and the attorneys need to know how well you can do that.

The opposing attorney wants to know how well you understood the case and how sure you are of those opinions. He wants to determine how meticulous your work was and how convincing you will be to a jury when you express those opinions at a trial. The deposition provides the opposing lawyer an opportunity to question you about your methodology to expose any flaws in it. It offers him the opportunity to ask you about your reasons for using specific techniques or tests. Depositions give him a chance to test your knowledge and qualifications to see whether it holds up to scrutiny. It permits him to test whether you hold up under examination. He will look at your personal and emotional responses to questioning. He will look at how easily rattled you are and where your professional and personal weaknesses may be.

He will ask you detailed questions about your expertise, how it relates to this particular case, and what you did during your investigation. If any possible weaknesses exist in your expert report, he will attempt to clarify or confirm those weaknesses. Additionally, he will ask you questions about your procedures and methods, hoping to have an opportunity during a trial to compare your answers during this deposition with your answers during that trial. For your sake, they should be the same.

Careless answering of questions can discredit you later during trial if your statements at deposition conflict with statements that you make in a trial. When you speak in a deposition, you are putting your opinions on the record. At best, conflicting statements make you less convincing to the jury. At worst, they will give the opposing attorney a legitimate opportunity at impeachment. In a legal setting, impeachment is simply a procedure of disqualification. If the opposing attorney can show to the judge that your professional expertise is lacking, that your methodology was flawed, that you are biased, or that your claims are unreliable because of conflicts, the judge can disqualify you as a witness. Your efforts, your research, and your opinions will be rejected as unacceptable for presentation during the trial. Your work will have been wasted.

Yes, I mean to frighten you just a little. Depositions are serious business, and you are being paid well. If you have progressed to Lesson 8, then I assume you are serious about wanting to be a better expert witness. As I've said before, you will have to remain calm and thoughtful and exceptionally wary. You are on the defense in a deposition. Although I have a black belt in martial arts, I cannot be 100% sure of the result if I were to get into a fight. I have the equivalent of a black belt in expert witnessing after decades of experience, but I am still cautious when walking into a deposition.

My fundamental guidance, then, is: Let confidence comfort you, but let caution guide you!

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