Until now, there has never been a process that looks at all the essential factors required to validate the background of an expert witness. A retired FBI agent is hoping to change that through the establishment of the Hartford-based Expert Witness Validation Badge.
“I’ve seen numerous expert witnesses take the stand who gave outstanding testimony, and also some real hacks who did not belong on the witness stand,” said Mike Clark in his statement, who during his 23-year career with the FBI was involved in numerous trials, including the prosecution of former Gov. John Rowland.
Clark is one of seven people who, throughout the past year, has come up with the new criteria for a vetting process tailored specifically to expert witnesses. Since his retirement from the FBI, Clark himself has worked as an expert witness as a white-collar crime and public corruption expert.
The Expert Witness Validation Committee works as an advisory board to The Expert Witness Exchange LLC, which will issue the validation badge once the criteria for approval are met.
Clark said the guidelines were designed to take the guesswork out of the process for attorneys retaining expert witnesses. That guesswork could result in unfavorable outcomes as a result of an attorney’s oversight, such as an expert’s lapsed license or other clerical missteps.
Fees are $195 for a validation badge, $40 for annual re-validation.
The Expert Witness Exchange will maintain a validated expert registry containing the names of each recipient of an expert witness validation badge in a format consistent with best practices, along with general limitations and criteria utilized in the validation process.
