Expert Witness Testimony for Surveyors and Engineers – Half Day or Full Day (Nominally 4.0 or 8.0 Contact Hours)
The role of the engineer or surveyor as expert witness will be studied and explored. The basis of this study will be the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedures (FRCP). Currently, 42 (or more) of the 50 states have adopted these rules as their own thereby rendering the Federal Rules highly relevant in any discussion of expert witness testimony. This seminar will go through the basics of a civil lawsuit from initial complaint, the discovery process, and the trial. The role of the expert as a witness and the testimony that the expert can give under the rules will be explored. Ten fundamental questions that every expert witness must know before testifying will be asked and answered. At least four pivotal court cases on the issue of expert witness testimony will be studied and discussed. Power Point presentation.
OBJECTIVES: To enhance professional competency and improve practitioner’s knowledge of the law as it relates to the practice of land surveying.