Expert witness

How bias and unreliability can affect your court case

Airing Saturday, January 12, at 11 AM Pacific Time

Available thereafter through the archive

Anyone who watches TV, or goes through a custody battle, or knows someone who has tangled with the courts, knows what an expert witness is. Called forensic experts, they are the ones who tell the court the deep-seated truth about the parties, right? Well, turns out they disagree, can be biased, and are generally unreliable, according to a recent study of psychologists.

Lucy Guarnera, ABD, is one author of the research that found that training and standards are lacking, and bias toward the side that is paying them is a serious problem. Guarnera is a PhD candidate at University of Virginia, and has received grants from the American Psychology-Law Association, The American Academy of Forensic Psychology, The National Science Foundation and others to conduct her research.

Join us as we talk about expert witnesses and the courts.