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What is the role of a Psychology Expert Witness?

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What is the role of a Psychology Expert Witness?

The role of a Psychology Expert Witness is to provide a court or tribunal with specialist information which legal professionals would not be able to supply. It is important to make it clear that the duty of an Expert Witness Psychologist is to the Court and not the instructing party(ies) i.e. the solicitor(s) or client(s). In addition to individual Expert Witness Psychologist the definition was extended to include “Expert Teams”, as part of the 2010 extension to the Civil Procedure rules. This was in recognition of fact that some cases may require teams of professionals from different disciplines to work jointly to produce a medico-legal report.

Psychology Expert Witnesses, like all other type of Expert Witness, are different to “ordinary witnesses” as Expert Witnesses are permitted to provide an opinion in a case as opposed to simply stating the facts. To enable the Court to assess the reasons behind the Expert Witness Psychologist’s opinions they must supply the Court with the necessary information that lead them to those conclusions. In addition to this, the opinion of the Psychology Expert Witness must be both relevant, as deemed by the “probative value” of that evidence, and admissible.

It is unusual for Expert Witness Psychologists to give an opinion about how a person without any mental health difficulties would react in certain situations or about the truthfulness of a person’s statement or evidence. However, under certain circumstances, such as those involving possible malingering or when video and interview evidence given by a person conflict or matters concerning the reliability or veracity of a child’s testimony. Under these circumstances a Psychology Expert Witness can provide an opinion based upon best practice for those situations such as the use of evidence based and standardised psychometric tests.

One important distinction to draw is that Expert Witness Psychologists are not allowed to give an opinion on a question of fact in the case, that is being considered by the judge or jury e.g. a Psychology Expert Witness in civil family cases cannot make suggestions as to the best placement of a child or confirm if an alleged case of abuse or neglect took place, as this is for the judge to decide.

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  • Over 1000 qualified, pre-vetted psychologists available for expert witness work within Clinical, Educational, Neuro and Forensic
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  • Full fee estimate provided upfront, tailored to your specific case
  • All Experts work at Legal Aid rates
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  • Fees normally the same or lower than approaching an Expert Witness directly
  • Comprehensive and flexible range of assessments available comprising clinical interviews and evidence based psychometric tests as required
  • Response to email within one hour
  • Three Expert Witness CVs and fees within 24 hours
  • Psychology Medico Legal reports within four to six weeks
  • Fast track service available
  • Dedicated client manager on hand for enquiries
  • Able to meet even the most challenging deadlines
  • Over 1000 qualified, pre-vetted psychologists available for expert witness work within Clinical, Educational, Neuro and Forensic
  • All experts registered with the Health & Care Professions Council and/or The British Psychological Society
  • High quality reports, provided by the Expert Witness and 100% proof-read by our teams
  • All experts adhere to latest MoJ Practice Directions and are up to date with relevant CPD
  • One call, and you’ll be allocated your personal, dedicated client manager for the duration of your case
  • Professional, flexible and friendly service
  • Proactive and efficient case management
  • Wide range of cultures, languages and geographical regions represented within our network
  • Full fee estimate provided upfront, tailored to your specific case
  • All Experts work at Legal Aid rates
  • Our comprehensive service at no additional costs
  • Fees normally the same or lower than approaching an Expert Witness directly
  • Comprehensive and flexible range of assessments available comprising clinical interviews and evidence based psychometric tests as required

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