Cases - In Re J (A Minor)

Record details

Name

In Re J (A Minor)

Date

[1990]

Citation

Times Law reports 31 July 568 Family Division

Keywords

Expert witness

Summary

'Expert witnesses are in a privileged position in that they are permitted to give an opinion in evidence. Such experts have to express only genuinely held opinions which are not biased in favour of one party.

Opinions can differ but such differences are usually within a legitimate area of disagreement. An expert witness should not be misled by omission. A report should provide a straightforward not misleading opinion, be objective, should not omit factors which do not support the opinion and should have been researched properly. If the expert considers that the data available are insufficient then it has to be indicated to the court that the opinion is only provisional. An expert witness should avoid producing a report which seeks to promote a particular case as that would be an abuse of the expert's proper function and would render the report an argument not an opinion.'

Further:

'A misleading opinion will cause costs to be increased because competing evidence will have to be called. In all cases costs can be reduced if the expert witnesses on each side can discuss together their reports in advance of the hearing.'

While In Re J concerned a wardship dispute, the court's observations about the general duties of expert witnesses are relevant to other types of case.