Giving Evidence in Court
have arrived at differing conclusions, either clinically or in terms of expression of the relevance of any clinical findings to the legal questions at hand.
Te provision of a good written report should mean that the process of giving oral evidence is far less challenging an experience than otherwise would have been the case.
During the preparation of a written report the expert is likely to have read and drawn upon a large amount of written material. Including a summary of the relevant parts of this in the written report (see Chapter 8) will obviate the need laboriously to go through the material again.
Te contemporaneous handwritten notes from the interviews conducted with the subject to produce the report need to be kept securely, and then brought to court on the day of the hearing in case any party wishes to read and/or to question the doctor about this material.
A key to feeling confident at court is having a sound knowledge, both of the nature of the interface between law and psychiatry in general, and of the case itself, including your own report and the reports of others. Experts are almost always permitted to refer to their report and to their notes whilst giving evidence. Markup your report, and the reports of other experts, so that you can quickly find important passages, and recall what else you may wish to emphasise. In complex cases it may assist to make your own evidential notes, maybe in the form of a ‘mind map’; not only can this help you piece together the connections between the different items of evidence you have used, or disregarded, it can also help in thinking through how best to explain your conclusions and, importantly, what those who do not agree with you are likely to see as the weak points in your opinion.
Often, especially in complex cases, it is helpful to both lawyer and doctor to meet before the hearing in order to go through the evidence to be given. Tis gives the doctor the opportunity to highlight to the lawyer aspects of their evidence that they believe are especially important, and for them both to anticipate challenges to the doctor’s opinion. Most likely the lawyer concerned will have little knowledge of psychiatry, certainly less than the expert witness, and without guidance they may misunderstand a part of a report or not foresee what to the expert might be an obvious challenge. A good barrister will anticipate cross examination points and rehearse them with the doctor in conference.
Perhaps unfairly, it is important for an expert entering a courtroom to give a good first impression. Dress formally – ‘one stage more formally than you would to work’ is a helpful rule of thumb. Conservative clothes are to be preferred.
Process General advice
• Speak slowly and clearly; if you speak too fast you will probably confuse yourself, use too many words, and so open up more avenues for challenge, and in any event you will be asked to slow
down
• As far as possible, simplify your opinion, especially in front of a jury • Use concrete metaphors in order to get over abstract concepts
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