Originally Posted by
Lawprof
As a teacher of the law and attorney, don't know I've ever seen a more competent, thorough eyewitness this side of a professional, such as a law enforcement officer. This guy's either the best BSer I've ever seen or the best layman eyewitness I've ever seen.
Lets see how competent and thorough the FAA and the NTSB think this eyewitness is during the course of their investigations, I think they may concur on the former of your potential conclusions of the (layman)eyewitness. Normally only information from an “expert witness” would be considered.
Rules about expert witnesses are set by state and federal rules of evidence, depending on whether your case is in state or federal court.
According to the
Federal Rules of Evidence, a qualified expert witness is someone who has knowledge, skill, education, experience, or training in a specialized field. These qualifications are generally also required of expert witnesses in state courts.
Under federal rules, experts must base their testimony on sufficient facts or data of the type reasonably relied upon by experts in their field, in order to help the jury understand issues that typically require specialized knowledge. While non-expert witnesses can only testify about what they've seen or heard, expert witnesses are generally allowed to give their specialized or professional opinion.
States have similar rules, though there are notable differences among states when it comes to the admissibility of expert testimony.