By James J. Mangraviti, Jr., Esq.
During an expert witness deposition, opposing counsel may try to develop information that can be later used at trial to paint the expert as a “hired gun.” One simple way to do this is to elicit the number of states the expert has testified in. Deposition questioning on the states the expert has testified in can be even more effective if the expert is either defensive or evasive in their responses – thus making the expert look like they have something to hide.
Please consider the following example of hired gun expert witness deposition questions.
Example: Deposition questions for hired gun expert witness who travels frequently
Q: How many states have you testified in?
A: A number. I don’t know the exact number, but a number.
Q: Connecticut?
A: Yes.
Q: Texas?
A: Yes.
Q: Georgia?
A: Yes.
Q: California?
A: Once, yes.
Q: The Carolinas?
A: Yes.
Q: Indiana?
A: Yes.
Q: Ohio?
A: Yes.
Q: Massachusetts?
A: I think so.
Q: Wyoming?
A: Yes.
Q: Arizona?
A: I am not sure about Arizona. But if there’s a record that supports it, then I would agree. I am not sure.
Q: New Mexico?
A: I am not sure about New Mexico either.
Q: Colorado?
A: Yes.
Q: Tennessee?
A: Yes.
Q: Illinois?
A: Yes.
Q: Virgin Islands?
A: Yes.
Q: Kentucky?
A: Yes.
Q: Nevada?
A: I am not sure about Nevada.
Beware that at trial, a well-prepared expert may be able to successfully push back on an attack based on the large number of states the expert has testified in.
Q: How many states have you testified in?
A: I have been found to be qualified by judges and have testified in 37 states, sir.
So the use of the above hired gun expert witness deposition questions, may not be as effective as hoped if the expert witness is prepared for this line of challenge.
James J. Mangraviti, Jr., Esq., has trained thousands of expert witnesses through seminars, conferences, corporate training, training for professional societies, and training for governmental agencies including the FBI, IRS, SEC, NYPD, Secret Service, and Department of Defense. He is also frequently called by experts, their employers, and retaining counsel to train and prepare individual expert witnesses for upcoming testimony. Mr. Mangraviti assists expert witnesses one-on-one with report writing, mentoring, and practice development. He is a former litigator who currently serves as Principal of the expert witness training company SEAK, Inc. (www.testifyingtraining.com). Mr. Mangraviti received his BA degree in mathematics summa cum laude from Boston College and his JD degree cum laude from Boston College Law School. Mr. Mangraviti has designed dozens of expert witness training programs and has personally taught experts in a group setting over 250 times since 1997. He is the co-author of thirty books.
