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How to Use and Not Lose Experts in Criminal Cases

By Jodi Misher Peikin and James R. Stovall
May 26, 2009

Rare is the white-collar case today where an expert witness does not play a powerful role. But the vagueness in expert disclosure rules in criminal cases can lead unwary defense counsel to forfeit an expert entirely.

Experts are powerful because, unlike fact witnesses, they can tell the jury not just what the evidence is, but what it means. Rule 704 of the Federal Rules of Evidence permits experts to address dispositive or “ultimate” issues, like whether alleged errors in a financial statement were false or material.

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