The problem of evasive testimony: the expert "waffle".
Confronted with a difficult, unexpected, or confrontational question, an expert witness may answer by attempting to overwhelm the questioner with words, sometimes highly evasive ones, that avoid, rather than actually address, the question asked. Such a discursive response is sometimes called a "waffle," as in "The expert's answer was a waffle." This review notes some examples of this phenomenon and attempts to categorize them in a meaningful way. An ancillary goal of this discussion may be to aid experts in focusing their answers.
Gutheil
Thomas G
TG
Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Bosston, MA, USA. gutheiltg@cs.com
D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D003416:Criminal Law / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005104:Expert Testimony / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006708:Homicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D008318:Malpractice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D033262:Narration; D012660:Semantics; D013405:Suicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014705:Verbal Behavior