{"id":1371,"date":"2023-02-20T13:19:37","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T18:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/?p=1371"},"modified":"2023-02-20T13:19:39","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T18:19:39","slug":"makes-expert-witness-credible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/","title":{"rendered":"What Makes an Expert Witness Credible?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>During legal proceedings, witnesses are often utilized to corroborate a story, provide insight into motive or provide professional expertise in a subject area. There are two types of witnesses \u2013 those who saw and heard what happened and those who can evaluate the evidence and are called upon in a deposition or trial about their judgment.<\/p>\n<h2>What Exactly is an Expert Witness?<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1373 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/TD-Expert-Witness.jpg?resize=500%2C375&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"expert witnesses, Timothy Dimoff\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/TD-Expert-Witness.jpg?w=500&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/TD-Expert-Witness.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>They are people with extensive experience or knowledge in a specific field or discipline beyond that expected from a layperson.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rulesofevidence.org\/article-vii\/rule-702\/\">Federal Rule of Evidence 702<\/a>, expert witnesses must have knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, which will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue.<\/p>\n<h2>Expert Witnesses Must Have a Factual CV<\/h2>\n<p>It is essential to have a clear Curriculum Vitae (CV) accurately depicting the knowledge, skill, training, education, and experience accumulated throughout a career. Just like a resume, the CV must be factual.<\/p>\n<p>When writing or evaluating CVs, follow these tips:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ensure all information is accurate and complete, including citing all publications and presentations.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure there are no time lapses between employment, even if there are times spent outside the expertise<\/li>\n<li>Only include current licenses, memberships, and certifications<\/li>\n<li>The information is clearly stated without editorializing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If there are errors on the CV, the opinions given during the proceeding can be called into question. The opposition uses this technique to challenge the expert\u2019s credibility.<\/p>\n<h2>The Report They File Must Include the IRAC Rule<\/h2>\n<p>The communication from an expert witness must be documented in a clear, well-written report. This is achieved by following <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/IRAC\">IRAC<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>I \u2013 What is the Issue?<\/p>\n<p>R \u2013 How was the Rule Affected or Broken?<\/p>\n<p>A \u2013 What tools did the expert use in their Analysis?<\/p>\n<p>C- What is the expert\u2019s Conclusion?<\/p>\n<p>Adhering to IRAC ensures the report is written correctly and demonstrates credibility to the expert witness\u2019s opinion.<\/p>\n<h3>If you are an expert, follow these tips for a clear, well-written report:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Give practical advice based on your expertise<\/li>\n<li>Support your opinion with substantial evidence<\/li>\n<li>Make sure to communicate with the party who hired you throughout the preparation process<\/li>\n<li>Imagine every word of the report is being used against you during cross-examination<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Remember, if the expert witness is not considered credible, the opposition might disprove any opinion given during the legal proceeding. Show credibility with a comprehensive CV and deliver a compelling report.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI have been a National Court Expert Witness for over 25 years. Today, more than years before, the expert\u2019s professional credentials and experience are scrutinized and crucial more than ever during testimony and directly impact the case outcome!\u201d shares Tim Dimoff.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Timothy Dimoff is a National Expert Witness<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-471\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2016\/05\/timdimoff4.jpg?resize=100%2C144&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Timothy Dimoff\" width=\"100\" height=\"144\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>To learn more about writing a better CV and tips for writing the most effective expert witness report,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/contact\/\">contact<\/a>\u00a0Tim to schedule Tim\u2019s Talk, <a href=\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/tims-talks\/tims-talks-miscellaneous-effective-expert-witness\/\">How to be an Effective Expert Witness<\/a>, today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During legal proceedings, witnesses are often utilized to corroborate a story, provide insight into motive or provide professional expertise in a subject area. There are two types of witnesses \u2013 those who saw and heard what happened and those who can evaluate the evidence and are called upon in a deposition or trial about their judgment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5414,"featured_media":3705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[398,85],"tags":[137,134,135],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Makes an Expert Witness Credible? - Timothy Dimoff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What makes an expert witness credible and how can you become one? Tim offers training in this area. It starts with a strong CV.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Makes an Expert Witness Credible? - Timothy Dimoff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What makes an expert witness credible and how can you become one? Tim offers training in this area. It starts with a strong CV.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Timothy Dimoff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-20T18:19:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-20T18:19:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/Expert-Witness-Timothy-Dimoff-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tim Dimoff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tim Dimoff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tim Dimoff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5cc1bca8478b2e91b1537547f210767f\"},\"headline\":\"What Makes an Expert Witness Credible?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-20T18:19:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-20T18:19:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/\"},\"wordCount\":484,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5cc1bca8478b2e91b1537547f210767f\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/Expert-Witness-Timothy-Dimoff-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Curriculum Vitae\",\"expert witness\",\"IRAC Rule\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Expert Witness\",\"Hot Topics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/\",\"name\":\"What Makes an Expert Witness Credible? - Timothy Dimoff\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/Expert-Witness-Timothy-Dimoff-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-20T18:19:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-20T18:19:39+00:00\",\"description\":\"What makes an expert witness credible and how can you become one? Tim offers training in this area. It starts with a strong CV.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/Expert-Witness-Timothy-Dimoff-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/Expert-Witness-Timothy-Dimoff-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"expert witness, national expert witness\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Makes an Expert Witness Credible?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/\",\"name\":\"Timothy Dimoff\",\"description\":\"Speaker | Emcee | Expert Witness | Author\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5cc1bca8478b2e91b1537547f210767f\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5cc1bca8478b2e91b1537547f210767f\",\"name\":\"Tim Dimoff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2021\/08\/cropped-Timothy-Dimoff-at-Sales-Meeting-scaled-1.jpg?fit=512%2C512&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2021\/08\/cropped-Timothy-Dimoff-at-Sales-Meeting-scaled-1.jpg?fit=512%2C512&ssl=1\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Tim Dimoff\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/author\/tim-d\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Makes an Expert Witness Credible? - Timothy Dimoff","description":"What makes an expert witness credible and how can you become one? Tim offers training in this area. It starts with a strong CV.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Makes an Expert Witness Credible? - Timothy Dimoff","og_description":"What makes an expert witness credible and how can you become one? Tim offers training in this area. It starts with a strong CV.","og_url":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/","og_site_name":"Timothy Dimoff","article_published_time":"2023-02-20T18:19:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-20T18:19:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/Expert-Witness-Timothy-Dimoff-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tim Dimoff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tim Dimoff","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/"},"author":{"name":"Tim Dimoff","@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5cc1bca8478b2e91b1537547f210767f"},"headline":"What Makes an Expert Witness Credible?","datePublished":"2023-02-20T18:19:37+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-20T18:19:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/"},"wordCount":484,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5cc1bca8478b2e91b1537547f210767f"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/Expert-Witness-Timothy-Dimoff-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","keywords":["Curriculum Vitae","expert witness","IRAC Rule"],"articleSection":["Expert Witness","Hot Topics"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/","url":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/","name":"What Makes an Expert Witness Credible? - Timothy Dimoff","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/Expert-Witness-Timothy-Dimoff-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","datePublished":"2023-02-20T18:19:37+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-20T18:19:39+00:00","description":"What makes an expert witness credible and how can you become one? Tim offers training in this area. It starts with a strong CV.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/Expert-Witness-Timothy-Dimoff-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/Expert-Witness-Timothy-Dimoff-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"expert witness, national expert witness"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/2023\/02\/20\/makes-expert-witness-credible\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Makes an Expert Witness Credible?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/","name":"Timothy Dimoff","description":"Speaker | Emcee | Expert Witness | Author","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5cc1bca8478b2e91b1537547f210767f"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5cc1bca8478b2e91b1537547f210767f","name":"Tim Dimoff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2021\/08\/cropped-Timothy-Dimoff-at-Sales-Meeting-scaled-1.jpg?fit=512%2C512&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2021\/08\/cropped-Timothy-Dimoff-at-Sales-Meeting-scaled-1.jpg?fit=512%2C512&ssl=1","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Tim Dimoff"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"},"url":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/author\/tim-d\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/timothydimoff.com\/files\/2017\/03\/Expert-Witness-Timothy-Dimoff-1.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1371"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5414"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1371"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3709,"href":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1371\/revisions\/3709"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timothydimoff.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}