As we have discussed the importance of an officer’s training and experience and along with the ability to give expert opinions, we should also discuss just what makes an officer an expert. I really noticed this importance of an officer’s expertise when I was prosecuting wiretaps where the defendants were speaking in another language, and coded language at that. The entire case depended on the opinions of a bilingual agent who believed the coded conversations to be in furtherance of a complex conspiracy.
What’s Important
Here are a series of facts that could be important in establishing an officer’s expertise:
1. Length of service
2. Prior relevant experience (for instance # traffic stops)
3. Total training description
4. Training relevant to the investigation
5. Total number of cases investigated
6. Total number of cases assisted
7. Number of cases investigated in area
8. Number of interviews conducted
9. Number of reports read
10. Any experience as an instructor
11. Anything showing why you know better than my mother
Creating a Demonstrative Exhibit
In the world of advocacy and persuasion, visual exhibits are quite effective. So when presenting the expertise of the expert witness, I have found it helpful to create a demonstrative exhibit for the judge or jury. Each fact on this exhibit is sponsored by the testimony, so the exhibit merely reflects the testimony in evidence. Here is an example of such an exhibit from a tremendous witness (and good friend) who is endorsed as an expert witness on cases beyond his own.
