An expert witness is "[a] witness qualified by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education to provide a scientific, technical, or other specialized opinion about the evidence or a fact issue." Witness, Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).
Expert witness research is an important part of the legal process. The resources in this guide will help Jenkins' members find, research, and work with expert witnesses.
Court rules often outline how facts and opinions from witnesses can be obtained during the discovery process and how their testimony can be handled. See the Pennsylvania Court Rules and Federal Court Rules guides for how to access the Pennsylvania and Federal court rules.
Jenkins also has court rules for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. A search of the Jenkins' catalog for court rules and the jurisdiction should find the relevant materials.
It may be beneficial to look at more general resources like encyclopedias and practice manuals. The most common of these materials can be found in the Pennsylvania Secondary Materials and Federal Practice & Procedure guides. Consult the indexes for where to find information regarding witnesses.
Trial practice treatises may also have information regarding expert witnesses. To find these materials, search the Jenkins' catalog for the subject trial practice or browse the General Collection stacks around KF8915 or the Pennsylvania stacks around KFP538. Consult the indexes for where to find information regarding witnesses.
It is important to be aware that witness testimony can often be related to evidence and discovery. For more information on these two topics, see the Evidence Practice and Discovery Practice guides.
Jenkins' Research Services can do expert witness research for our members. Research and document delivery rates do apply. Please contact our librarians at 215.574.1505 or research@jenkinslaw.org for more information.