Testifying in Court: Guidelines and Maxims for the Expert Witness, Second Edition

Testifying in court can be a challenging experience. Novices who are unfamiliar with the judicial environment can feel insecure about many aspects of their testimony, from the language they use to the clothes they wear. Even experienced expert witnesses can be flustered by a skillful lawyer's cross-examination.

For over 20 years, Stanley Brodsky's Testifying in Court has been a trusted guide for expert witnesses across a variety of professions. Readers have come to know and trust his sage and good-humored advice on every aspect of the experience from initial preparations to maintaining power and control during cross-examination.

In this extensively updated edition of his classic text, the author has combined a wealth of new research with feedback from users of the first edition and his own evolving experience as an expert witness. As in the first edition, key principles are addressed in brief essays that draw on real-life scenarios and end in a take-home maxim.

Introduction to the Second Edition

1. Admit–Deny
2. Burden of Proof and Degree of Certainty
3. Challenges to Experience: 1. Insufficient Experience
4. Challenges to Experience: 2. Case-Specific Experience
5. Challenges to Experience: 3. The Case Against Experience
6. Changing Your Mind
7. Child Sexual Abuse Testimony
8. Collateral Data
9. Courtroom as Place Identity
10. Credentialing
11. Culture
12. Diagnoses and Definitions
13. The Direct Examination
14. Disaster Relief
15. DSM Cautions
16. Examiner Effects
17. Feisty Experts: Witnesses Chiding Judges and Attorneys
18. Freud as an Expert Witness
19. Frittering Away Trustworthiness
20. The Hired Gun
21. The Historic Hysteric Gambit
22. Humor
23. Intimidation
24. Just Before the Court Appearance
25. Knowing When to Fold Them
26. Language of Testimony
27. The Learned Treatise Gambit
28. Listening Well
29. Malingering and Faking Good
30. Moving On
31. Narcissistic Experts
32. Negative Assertions
33. Perspective-Taking
34. Power and Control on the Witness Stand
35. Predictable Answers
36. Probes for Guilt and Shame
37. Professional Witnesses and Professionalism
38. Psychotherapists as Expert Witnesses
39. The Pull to Affiliate and Allegiance Effects
40. The Push–Pull Technique
41. Qualifications and Expertise
42. Report Matters
43. The Rumpelstiltskin Principle
44. Saying "I Don't Know" Versus Waffling
45. Socialization During the Trial
46. Staying Current
47. Theatrical and Outlandish Attorneys
48. Transformative Moments
49. Uninvolved and Inept Attorneys
50. Using Quiet Times
51. Vigorous Cross-Examinations and Vigorous Answers
52. The Well-Dressed Witness
53. When It Is Over
54. Worst Testifying Experiences
55. Your Expertise Used Against You

References

Index

About the Author

Stanley L. Brodsky is a professor in the Department of Psychology at The University of Alabama, where he coordinates the psychology-law PhD concentration. His work specializes in the application of psychological knowledge to offenders, law, and legal issues. He is considered by many professionals and scholars to be the nation's leading expert on court testimony. In 2008, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Contributions to Psychology & Law Award of the American Psychology-Law Society.