You may think of witnesses in any type of case as testifying about what they heard and saw. Witnesses can be called by the prosecution or defense in an attempt to prove a case. However, witnesses can be helpful to both sides in other contexts as they either try to prove their case or keep the prosecutor from establishing a criminal defendant’s guilt. Both sides may use expert witnesses to assist in their case. These witnesses do not testify about facts; instead, they give their opinions about evidence so the jury may better understand it. Let’s discuss how a criminal defense lawyer from Hogan Eikhoff may work with expert witnesses in your case.
Expert Witnesses Can Help Attack the Prosecution’s Case
Your criminal defense lawyer will use a number of ways to present your own case to the court. Of course, you would hopefully have witnesses who could corroborate your own side of the story. Hopefully, you would have an alibi witness who would testify that you could not have been in the place where the prosecutor alleged at the time the crime was committed. Your defense attorney’s strategy should be multi-faceted. Not only do you want to establish your own positive case that tells your own story, but you should also attack the prosecutor’s case in any way that you can. Expert witnesses are one way that your attorney would attempt to weaken the prosecutor’s case and try to spin the facts in your favor to the jury.
Not just anyone can serve as an expert witness in a case. One has to be qualified to be an expert to give testimony and have it admitted into court. The expert must have specialized knowledge, education, or experience that gives their opinion greater weight than that of the average layperson. Then, the testimony offered by the expert must “assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue.”
Expert Witnesses Can Explain Evidence and Educate the Jury
Your criminal defense attorney would be presenting a fair amount of evidence when your case goes to trial, as would the prosecutor. Especially when the concepts at issue are complex, the jury may not know what to make of them or how to understand them. Both sides may try to educate the jury in a manner that fits their own story of the case. The jury needs to be able to process what they are seeing and hearing because they have quite a bit to synthesize.
Expert witnesses often act to educate the jury on a certain topic. For example, there could be a complex area of your case, such as DNA evidence that your attorney may be trying to introduce or that the prosecutor is using and your criminal defense attorney may want to challenge. The prosecutor may have their own way of explaining a topic that fits their own narrative. However, your criminal defense attorney may have a different way that they want the jury to think about the matter. An expert witness may explain a technical subject to the jury through their testimony to make a concept easier to grasp.
Your criminal defense attorney may also use an expert witness to potentially undermine evidence upon which the prosecution’s case rests. For example, the prosecutor may be trying to use evidence that links you to a gun that was used in the commission of the alleged crime, even if it does not necessarily have your fingerprints on it. You would not necessarily be able to have a fact witness testify in regard to your own conclusion that you were not the person who used the gun. An expert witness could testify in a way that would attack what the prosecutor has concluded and the testimony of their own expert witness.
The testimony of one or more witnesses could be crucial to the prosecution’s case against you. A criminal defense lawyer could cross-examine the witness under oath in the hopes of attacking their testimony. In addition, your attorney could also use expert witness testimony to challenge the credibility and authenticity of the witness. The expert could offer their own testimony about why what the witness is saying cannot be true without necessarily contesting the direct what they have said.
Remember that you do not need to prove your own innocence to be acquitted or criminal charges against you. It is the prosecutor who has the burden of proof to demonstrate your case beyond a reasonable doubt. All you need to do is undermine the prosecutor’s case just enough that there is an element of doubt in the mind of the jury where they would not convict you. While direct witness testimony is the strongest possible way to cast doubt on the prosecutor’s case, expert witness testimony can also serve your purposes by contravening what the prosecutor has tried to prove and negating one or more elements of the alleged crime.
An expert witness could also offer an opinion on you and your competency to stand trial. Your attorney may be arguing that you are not competent to stand trial because of your mental health. You may be pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. Then, the expert witness may testify about your mental state and whether you could have had the requisite intent to commit the crime. The prosecution’s expert may give their own opinion about your competency.
Contact an Eau Claire Criminal Defense Lawyer Todayy
If you have been charged with a crime, you need a criminal defense attorney to present the strongest possible case in your favor. It is essential that you reach out to a criminal defense lawyer immediately to begin your own efforts to achieve the best possible outcome in your case. Contact the criminal defense lawyers at Hogan Eickhoff at 920-450-9800 or schedule a free initial consultation today. We can speak to you immediately so you can get a determined lawyer on your side and have some peace of mind during a difficult time.