Independent, court-Appointed Experts

[Judge Thomas]

Let me suggest another avenue of approach for testing expert opinions
- on either side. This is a subject which I have shared with most of
you before, but the process is becoming honed. In Tennessee we
developed a process by which trial judges can obtain recommendations
for independent experts. As judges, we can pretty easily make
decisions about qualifications, but the subject matter of the opinion
is the difficult part. I have not been trained in medicine, and even
if I had been, some of the stuff I see is, or can be, cutting edge, so
I need help. Enter the Tennessee Medical Association which provides me
the names of three doctors in the specialty in the case before me.
These docors are in states contibuous to Tennessee because SVMIC
insures most of the doctors in Tennessee. Once that doctor is
identified I convene a pretrial conference with the attorneys to frame
questions to be answered by the independent expert (this intrduces the
"blind" aspect). Once I receive the expert's report, I hold a hearing
on the aadmissibility of any expert's opinion at trial. I also require
the attorneys to advise me very early on whether I am going to have a
divergence of opinion between the experts. I have tried this process
on an actual case, and the plaintiff's attorney dismissed his case
based on the report of the expert. Helen has also participated in this
process on an FELA case which I had already tried.
Finally, the ABA will publish a manual on the use on independent
experts next month. What about trying to get other jurisdictions to
climb on. I would appreciate your thought, and Happy New Year to
everyone.

Neil Thomas

[Arnold Cohen]

I have tried desperately to get Pa to adopt this great approach. Unfortunately cooperation between attorneys, judges and doctors only exists in Tenn.
Arnie
-----Original Message-----
From: Judge Thomas <ne...@hamiltontn.gov>
To: (FACT), Fellowship for Accurate Courtroom Testimony <fellowship-for-accura...@googlegroups.com>

Sent: 12/31/2009 1:39:11 PM
Subject: Independent, court-Appointed Experts

Neil Thomas

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Fellowship for Accurate Courtroom Testimony (FACT)" group.
To post to this group, send email to fellowship-for-accura...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to fellowship-for-accurate-cou...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/fellowship-for-accurate-courtroom-testimony?hl=en.

This message is intended for the use of the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged and confidential, the disclosure of which is governed by applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, or distribution of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message by error, please notify the sender immediately to arrange for return or destruction of these documents.