Most people’s understanding of a courtroom witness is the witness who was present when the crime in question was committed or was a close friend, relative or other acquaintance of the defendant. However, you might not know about expert witness services. Expert witnesses are experts in their field — whether they are a dental expert witness or a psychiatric expert witness, these people give their advanced knowledge in a court testimonial to help the jury better understand the case.
So should you ask your lawyer to hire expert witness services for your trial?
Here are the top five things everyone should know about expert witness services:
1. Expert witnesses aren’t fact witnesses: Factual witnesses are people with firsthand experience of the crime that was committed or of the defendant; expert witnesses, in contrast, have limited knowledge of the trial and are hired only to give their professional input.
2. Expert witness services can alter the outcome of your trial: By offering his or her advanced knowledge in a field related to the trial, hiring expert witness services can help the jury better understand the evidence or testimonies given to them in the courtroom. If you’re being wrongly accused of a crime, hiring expert witness services could help prove your innocence.
3. Expert witness services are available in virtually any field: Whether an expert witness is computer forensics expert witness or simply an auto mechanic who is highly-qualified in the field, there’s bound to be an expert witness who has expertise in the area you’re looking for.
4. Your attorney has access to a variety of tools that make an expert witness search easy: There are a number of different online databases for finding the best expert witnesses in your area, making the search quick and simple.
5. Expert witness services aren’t free: In fact, most expert witnesses will charge a lot of money for their services. This means that you should only ask your attorney about hiring expert witness services if you’re absolutely sure it would help you in court. If not, it’s probably best not to waste the money. Read more.