Expert Witnesses And Police Excessive Force Cases

Expert witnesses are important people in lawsuits concerning many lines of work. Various professions such as doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, politicians, bankers, and engineers need expert witnesses at some point in their life if prosecuted with any misconduct. In the absence of an adroit witness, it is implicitly impossible for a petitioner to win misconduct litigation against these types of professionals.The principles and practices of skilled workers exceed the wisdom of common juries. Expert witnesses give affidavit and insights that enlighten normal judges.

Police use of force expert witness has become popular nowadays. Both the accused and the suitors can use expert testimonies. The biggest percentage of members of jury is not fully equipped with law enactments, policies, and the conduct of disciplinary bodies as evident from various cases presented on social media, TV news, documentaries, and movies. It is very rare to see for instance a motion about a legal constitution in these mediums.
A vast majority of expert witnesses include law administration retirees, legal consultants and executives. These practitioners are more commonly hired in jury suits than the non-jury. It is through proficient training and experience that they become expert witnesses. They are dexterous in various fields relating to beseeched cases and give realistic testimonies and then translate them to terms that judges understand. 

• Characteristics of Expert Witnesses :

1. They have excellent communication skills
2. They have the ability of translating legal jargons and issues in a standard language
3. Their life experience is extensive
4. They showcase excellent stage rapport
5. They earn their living through witnessing
6. Most of them are leaders in their expert fields

• Reasons to use Excessive Force Expert Witnesses in Police Litigation :

1. The expert has in-depth training on police cases and definitely appeals to the jury
2. Excessive force lawsuits go beyond typical legal skills
3. The plaintiff and defendant might need to establish a degree of comfort as far as facts of the case are concerned
4. Force expert witnesses have the privilege of giving opinions unlike the common witnesses, and can convince the judge to rule in favor of a police officer.
5. Force expert witnesses can solve puzzles for juries
6. If law enforcement professions act as defendants, their legitimacy is questionable since they can twist the law. The judge requires that defendants say nothing but the truth about a police officer who has been sued. However, when force expert witnesses come in, this issue is minimized.
7. Experts can elaborate to judges the ideal responses that would have been imposed on a certain situation. They give skilled information, use their wisdom in the case, and give a conclusive opinion. Perception is a crucial concept used by juries and expert witnesses aid in this.
8. The best force expert witnesses are regarded as professions who depict high credibility and truthfulness. And it should be known that these experts lay down the occurrences of a case and the reason for it using information deduced from other people. 

• Case Example :

Consider an alleged suit of a policeman using excessive force on a civilian.  Court can rule that an expert witness of the prosecutor cannot present an argument on the amount of force that the policeman is supposed to use in such kind of a case. If appropriate plaintiff’s expert testimony is not presented, the court has the mandate to grant non-suit. Alternatively, the accused can file an argument for non-suit claiming that the police officer used a force unknown to the civilian and for no reason.

• Final Thoughts :

In a lay man’s term, police use of force expert witness must yield a realistic opinion for a matter which is reasonably above typical expertise to help the jury make a verdict. However there are many cases in which malpractices are obvious using common knowledge; in his cases, expert witnesses are not required.