title: The court appointment of expert witnesses in the United States: a failed experiment.
abstract: In most civil-law countries the judges appoint the expert witnesses to ensure the witnesses' scientific objectivity. However, in the vast majority of cases in the United States, as in most common-law countries, the practice is that private litigants select the expert witnesses. There has been severe criticism of that practice. The federal courts in the United States and several state courts recently experimented with a statute authorizing more widespread use of court-appointed experts. The author demonstrates that the experiment failed and explains the reasons for the failure.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Imwinkelried
mesh_terms: D005104:Expert Testimony / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States