Chapter 17 Multiple Choice Questions

. The general rule at common law is that the opinions, beliefs, and inferences of a witness are inadmissible to prove the truth of the matters believed or inferred, if such matters are in issue or relevant to facts in issue in the case.

True

False

. Which of the following has not been identified as a requirement for the admissibility of expert evidence?

Independence and objectivity.

Professional qualification.

Reliability.

Assistance to the court.

. A defendant instructs an expert in a personal injury claim. However, his final report is less helpful than was expected. What consequences may follow?

The defendant may be required to disclose the first expert's report as a 'condition' of being permitted to rely on a new report. This may result in legal professional privilege being waived, although that does not always follow.

'The Civil Procedure Rules are clear. The court will compel the defendant to rely on the first expert's report. The defendant has no choice but to disclose the report to the claimant and to lodge it at court'.

The defendant can instruct another expert to see if the witness will provide a more helpful report and refuse to disclose the first expert's report to the claimant. So-called 'expert shopping' is authorised under the amended Civil Procedure Rules.

The expert's duty is to the party that instructed him or to the person who has paid him. Therefore, the expert can expect to be required to change a report in order to better reflect a party's instructions.

. A defendant is charged with murdering his girlfriend. He is pleading the defence of 'loss of self-control' on the basis that he feared serious violence from her. The defendant wishes to call a psychiatrist who will say that the defendant is not suffering from mental illness but his personality is such that he may have lost his self-control within the meaning of the defence and is likely to be telling the truth. Is this evidence admissible?

This evidence is admissible because it is likely to be outside the experience and knowledge of the jury. In short, the jurors will be unable to form their own conclusions without help.

The evidence is not admissible because the issues are well within the province of the jury. The jurors do not need expert evidence and it should not be offered to them.

The evidence is admissible because expert evidence is always required to establish the defence of loss of control under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

The evidence is not admissible because the defendant has the evidential burden of establishing the defence. Therefore, whether there is a defence or not is only ever a matter for the judge and not the jury. Judges, unlike juries, are legally qualified and, therefore, do not require assistance from expert witnesses.

. Due to concerns regarding the reliability of expert evidence, the Criminal Procedure Rules were amended to require an expert witness's report to include information relevant to assessing an expert's opinion. Which of the following factors may be relevant in determining the reliability of that evidence? Please select all that apply.

That the opinion is based on material outside the expert's field of expertise.

That the expert's methods followed the practice set down by statute.

That the material on which the opinion is based has been reviewed by a Government-approved body.

The completeness of the information that was available to the expert.

. What, in a legal context, is 'hot tubbing'?

It is the colloquial name for the practice that results in expert witnesses giving their evidence concurrently at a civil trial.

It is the colloquial name given to the procedure at a civil trial where the judge decides if the parties are able to call their respective witnesses or must instruct one joint expert witness.

It is the colloquial name given to the situation where parties decide that they wish to substitute one expert witness for another.

It is the colloquial name for the situation where a party has called an expert witness to give evidence, but wants to remove the witness because the witness is hostile to the party's case.

. 'The function of an expert witness is to assist the court by giving evidence of opinion. In an increasingly technical era that means expert witnesses are now often and unavoidably called upon to provide opinions in criminal trials that will decide the guilt or innocence of the accused'.

True

False

. A defendant is charged with causing death by dangerous driving. A witness, travelling in the opposite direction, estimated that the defendant was travelling at 60 miles per hour. Is this witness's evidence admissible?

The evidence is inadmissible opinion evidence. Witnesses are only permitted to give evidence of what they have perceived personally and not of conclusions that they have drawn from their perception. Therefore, the witness should only comment on what he observed.

The evidence is inadmissible opinion evidence because speed is an area of specialized knowledge that merits instructing a properly qualified expert witness and not just a passer-by.

The evidence is admissible because the witness is an 'ad hoc' expert who because of his experience is able to provide an expert opinion on the speed of the car concerned.

The evidence is admissible 'non-expert opinion'. By stating the estimated speed of the car the witness is merely conveying relevant facts personally perceived by him.

. An expert witness cannot, by using underlying facts as the basis of his opinion, make those facts evidence in the case, unless the expert happens to have personal knowledge of the transactions concerned.

True

False

. Expert evidence is often admitted in relation to a number of specialist areas of knowledge. Which of the following have been held to be admissible in evidence at trial? Please select all that apply.

Historical facts about Al Qaeda.

Gait comparison.

The political and economic situation in Russia.

The law of England and Wales.

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