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Working with an Expert Witness
We appreciate Windle Turley, Esq. for his excellent lecture on “Working with an Expert Witness . . the Plaintiff Attorney’s Prospective.”
Mr. Turley received his law degree in 1965, and has appeared seven times in D Magazine’s “Top Lawyers” list and is a repeat selection for Texas Super Lawyers’ List. When the Forensic Expert Witness Association held their meeting on January 28, 2010, he appeared as a delightful and insightful lecturer before a group of experts in varying fields.
Mr. Turley shared his view that “the Expert Witness is the life blood of your case.” He went on to say that he has noticed an increasing hostility from judges toward expert witnesses.
Because the cost of retaining an expert is becoming increasingly high, and regulations such as binding arbitration are becoming mandated, Mr. Turley stated his belief that trial experts will soon become extinct unless a case has potentially significant value.
Mr. Turley outlined what an attorney-client should expect from the Expert:
- A Reasonable Fee;
- Honesty about the case;
- Honesty about the Expert’s history;
- Availability to do the work requested;
- The Expert’s preparation for the case; and
- Help with the attorney’s preparation for the case.
In return, the Expert should expect the following from his attorney-client:
- Respect and Courtesy;
- Accommodation;
- Retainer letter defining the scope of the project and how the Expert will be paid;
- Early notification and ongoing updates;
- Written questions the attorney plans on asking the Expert; and
- A vigorous defense for Daubert challenges.
As an Expert, one should be willing and available to assist the attorney-client in proving the case. However, above all, honesty should always prevail, and an Expert should be an advocate for his opinion, not an advocate for the side that hired him.
Did Fonteno abuses constitue fraud?
Wendy was recently hired by and her opinion published in the Dallas Morning News for exposing a person signing a different person’s name on a Foreclosure Deed filed with the Dallas County Clerk and Recorder.
The red sign over the counter at the Dallas County records office warns: “It is a crime to intentionally or knowingly file a fraudulent court record or a fraudulent instrument with the clerk.”
More simply, it’s a prosecutable offense to submit documents with forged signatures or signatures of fictitious persons or paperwork that has been manipulated to portray faked events.
The rest of the article can be read here.
Signatures Questioned On Dead Woman’s Insurance Policy
DENVER (CBS4) – Two handwriting experts have concluded that someone forged the signatures of a Highlands Ranch doctor on her $1.5 million life insurance policy which was taken out two years before she mysteriously died in a fall from a cliff in Rocky Mountain National Park.
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/02/06/signatures-questioned-on-dead-womans-insurance-policy/
DC Appeals Court Upholds Use of Handwriting Analysis as Legal Evidence
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled that Handwriting Analysis will continue to be admissible as scientific evidence in local courts.
See the story here:
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2012/02/dc-appeals-court-upholds-use-of-handwriting-evidence.html
As Seen on The Denver Channel – ABC 7 News
Dayle Cedars, reporter for Channel 7 in Denver, Colorado, contacted Wendy Carlson about a possible forgery of a local car dealership. Read the story and see the video at http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/26990657/detail.html.
A criminal investigation for fraud is now underway.