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NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF.—The Forensic Expert Witness Association has filed an amicus brief with the California Supreme Court supporting a petition for review of the Lambert v. Carneghi decision (Case No. S 160995), which could allow litigants to sue their expert witnesses if the testimony is not favorable to the client.
FEWA believes the decision may undermine an expert’s ability to be impartial and may create a bias against providing honest and forthright opinions in a court of law.
“The appellate court decision places experts giving testimony in California in an untenable position by forcing them to act as advocates for their client’s litigation arguments rather than serving their intended role of providing unbiased testimony,” said Lyle E. Coe, FEWA president. “It also would create extraordinary pressure on experts to slant or shade testimony, perhaps to the point of exaggerating or distorting the expert’s true opinions.”
“It certainly will undermine the credibility of experts who do risk testifying, and thereby undermine public confidence in the judicial process itself,” Coe added.
The full text of the brief is available online in the FEWA Media Kit at: http://www.forensic.org/
About the Forensic Expert Witness Association
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Newport Beach, California, the Forensic Expert Witness Association is an organization of a diverse group of professionals sharing common goals related to performing forensic sevices and is dedicated to the professional development, ethics and promotion of forensic experts in all fields of discipline. FEWA’s members provide expert witness testimony covering a broad range of specialty categories, ranging from accident reconstruction to construction defects to industrial safety to real estate to transportation and trucking. For more information, visit the FEWA Web site: www.forensic.org.
