Expert Witness Reference
An expert witness is a person permitted to give opinion testimony because specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact — and whose opinion has to clear a reliability threshold before a jury ever hears it. This site explains that threshold, the motions that test it, and the engagement around it: 13 pages on the standards, 13 on the practice, and 9 guides. Published by Hartzer Consulting.
- Working in the field since
- 1996
- Expert reports
- 36
- Depositions
- 8
- Trials
- 5
- Arbitrations
- 1
Two questions, and almost every expert problem is one of them
Either the opinion has to get in, or the other side's has to be kept out — and both run through the same rule. Federal courts apply FRE 702 as amended on 1 December 2023; a minority of state courts still apply some version of general acceptance. Which one governs decides what the expert has to show.
Standards and Admissibility
13 pages on Rule 702, the Daubert factors, Frye and the state divergence, and the motions that decide it — each labelled with whether it is the proponent's burden, the opponent's move, or the court's call.
Retention and Practice
13 pages on the engagement — finding and vetting, fees and who pays for what, the report and the disclosure, the deposition and trial. Most of the expensive mistakes are made before anyone is retained.
The pages counsel opens first
Three things worth settling early
These are written to be useful to a reader who never makes contact. A conflict that surfaces after disclosure, a scope that was never defined, and a fee arrangement nobody wrote down are the three that cost the most and are the cheapest to avoid.
How each of these actually runs
Procedural, in order, with the rule named and the deadline stated at each step.
The seven groupings everything sits in
The Federal Framework
5 pagesRule 702, Daubert, and the decisions that built the gatekeeping obligation.
Frye and the States
3 pagesWhere the forum's standard is not the federal one, and how far it diverges.
How It Is Raised
5 pagesThe motions, the hearing, and the moment admissibility is actually decided.
Daubert Hearing Daubert Motion Daubert Challenge Motion in Limine Voir Dire
Finding and Vetting
4 pagesBefore anyone is retained, and where the expensive mistakes are made.
Money and Terms
3 pagesWhat it costs, who pays for what, and what the engagement letter fixes.
The Record
3 pagesThe report, the disclosure, and everything that becomes discoverable.
Deposition and Trial
3 pagesAfter disclosure, when the record is fixed and what remains is examination.
Retaining an expert, or facing one
Hartzer Consulting is retained by counsel on both sides in matters involving internet technology, search, digital advertising and domain names. A conflict check comes first, so a first message should describe the parties in general terms only.