18 October News Independence, bias and conflicts of interest Conflicts of interest, Bias, Independence, Duty of Expert, Duty to the court, Unconscious Bias Hon Mr Justice Trower provides invaluable guidance for Expert Witnesses at the 2024 the Sir Michael Davies lecture.
1 July News The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry and the importance of Expert Witness training Duty of Expert, Duty to the court, Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, Post Office Scandal, 17. Maintaining your professional edge, Gareth Jenkins, 06. Rules and Regulations, 11. Report Writing, 15. Giving Oral Evidence Gareth Jenkins gave evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry from 25 to 28 June on the expert evidence he provided on the Horizon IT system. Mr Jenkins told the Inquiry that he had been unaware of his duties as an Expert Witness and had not been offered any training to support his role. The EWI offers comprehensive training on the core competencies of an Expert Witness. We urge policy and rule makers, and the judiciary, to consider how to ensure that Expert Witnesses fully understand their duties and know how to apply them.
17 April Case Updates R v Valdo Calocane, The Crown Court at Nottingham, 25 January 2024, unreported Psychiatry, Duty to the court, Interviewing witnesses, Public interest, 06. Rules and Regulations, 11. Report Writing, 15. Giving Oral Evidence The case of Valdo Calocane, convicted of diminished responsibility manslaughter, has brought to the public’s attention the role of expert psychiatric witnesses in cases of alleged murder. The case raises a number of issues about the role of expert witnesses in criminal proceedings, mental condition defences and the meaning of public interest.
1 February Case Updates An expert who oversteps their role puts their evidence at risk Clinical psychology, Duty of Expert, Duty to the court, Judicial critism, European Convention on Human Rights, Humans Rights Act 1998, Gender Recognition Act 2004, 16. Criticism and Complaints, 10. Records Assessments and Site Visits, 06. Rules and Regulations An expert who does not understand their duty to be independent, and oversteps their role, risks the court either refusing to admit their evidence or placing less weight upon it. Ryan Castellucci, R (on the application of) v Gender Recognition Panel [2024] EWHC 54 (Admin)
19 January Case Updates Experts making the evidence fit their own conclusions do not meet their duty to the Court Expert evidence, Medical expert, CPR Part 35, Duty to the court, Judicial critism, Credibility of expert, 16. Criticism and Complaints, 06. Rules and Regulations, 11. Report Writing, 13. Experts Discussions and Joint Statements A medical expert witness was not helping the Court by trying to make the evidence about a child's injuries fit their own conclusions. LCC v V & B [2023] EWFC 268 (18 August 2023)
3 January Case Updates Robinson v Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (County Court at Liverpool, 9 September 2021) Duty to the court, Wasted costs order, Expert's duties, 11. Report Writing “How to avoid a wasted costs order”
13 December News The importance of independence: preserving the integrity of the Expert Witness discussion Experts duty, Independence, Duty of Expert, Expert's meeting, Expert's duty, Experts meeting, Duty to the court, Instruction from solicitor, 08. Working with Instructing Parties, 13. Experts Discussions and Joint Statements We take a look at how the distinction between being an independent Expert Witness is crucial in a court case.
14 November News Admissibility or weight: what is the test for expert evidence? Admissibility, Impartiality, Expert's behaviour, Bias, Independence, Duties of the Expert, Duty of Expert, Duty to the court, Legal role of an expert witness, Expert bias, 10. Records Assessments and Site Visits, 06. Rules and Regulations, 15. Giving Oral Evidence In an exceptional case, as here, where the expert singularly and spectacularly fails in their duties to the court, expert evidence may be deemed inadmissible and never get to the stage of being tested for weight.
22 November Case Updates Re CSB 123 Ltd [2021] EWHC 2506 (Ch) Duty to the court, Cross-examination, Valuation methodology, Comparables, Multipliers, 11. Report Writing, 15. Giving Oral Evidence The case: An application brought under the Insolvency Act 1986.