17th Nov 24 10:00 pm
JamieDivorce can be heart-wrenching, time-consuming, and stress-inducing. In some instances, the issues that arise over the course of divorce proceedings can also be confusing – not just for the spouses seeking a legal dissolution of their marriage, but even for the judge overseeing their case. In these instances, either party to the divorce – or their attorney, if they are working with professional legal counsel – may have recourse to an expert witness. Expert witnesses can play an important role in a wide variety of court proceedings, including in some divorces. These individuals offer the benefit of their specialized knowledge to help ensure a thorough understanding of crucial evidence and support the court in reaching fair and well-informed determinations throughout the proceedings, leading up to the judge’s final decision in the case. To learn more about the role expert witnesses may play in a Colorado divorce, reach out to the experienced Denver area team at Colorado Divorce Law Group today by calling (720) 593-6442 to schedule your private consultation.
Lay people going through divorce often have questions about what it means when an attorney working on the case – their own, or their former partner’s legal counsel – announces the intention to seek the services of an expert witness. In fact, the significance and legal uses of expert witnesses are a common source of questions received by attorneys across a wide array of case types, in large part because the distinction between an expert witness and any other kind of witness is not always readily apparent to people who do not spend their days working in legal fields, even among individuals who are generally well-read and well-informed about legal matters and the basic structures of common court proceedings.
Even people who have little to no experience with court proceedings personally are often aware, in a general way, of the practice of calling witnesses to testify “on the stand” during a trial. The questioning or cross-examination of a key witness often forms an important plot point in primetime courtroom dramas, and the “real life” testimony of witnesses in high profile cases is a frequent feature of the news cycle at all levels, from local to international. For similar reasons, many people will also be aware of the typical restrictions on the matters to which a witness may speak. This is where the crucial distinction between ordinary witnesses and expert witnesses lies.
Broadly speaking, the types of questions that may be posed to witnesses are determined by the rules of evidence that apply in the court where a case is heard. Rules of evidence are generally similar in most jurisdictions throughout the United States, but can vary slightly depending on whether the case is a matter for criminal vs. civil law and whether it falls under federal vs. state jurisdiction. C.R.E. 101 establishes that the Colorado Rules of Evidence apply throughout all courts in the state, but the presentation and discussion of evidence entered may vary somewhat depending on whether the case is a criminal trial vs. a matter for civil litigation. In Colorado, family law cases follow the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure, subject to a few limited modifications specified under C.R.S. § 14-10-105 (mainly related to the terminology used for the parties in family law cases, which differs from that involved in most civil litigation). An experienced Denver area attorney with Colorado Divorce Law Group may be able to help you understand how the state’s Rules of Evidence and Rules of Civil Procedure intersect in your specific situation.
Generally speaking, the Rules of Evidence prohibit most witnesses from giving testimony outside their direct personal knowledge. C.R.E. 701 constrains lay witnesses (non-expert witnesses) in Colorado from offering their non-factual perspectives as testimony except to make “opinions or inferences” that are, according to Rule 701:
Expert witnesses, on the other hand, typically have no first-hand knowledge of any of the events or personalities involved in the case, and they are not usually called in order to offer testimony in the form of new facts for a judge or jury to consider. Instead, expert witnesses are usually professionals whose work has allowed them to develop robust, specialized knowledge in a particular area. Attorneys call on these individuals to help the judge – or, depending on the case, the jury – understand the significance of the evidence entered in the court record. In other words: The role played by expert witnesses is not to provide new information, but to help explain what the information already present in the court record means.
The structure of this role, based not on the expert’s personal experience of the case at hand but on the background of specialized knowledge he or she has acquired in subject matter germane to some of the evidence presented in court, means that expert witnesses are subject to particular considerations regarding both their qualifications and the types of questions they may be asked in court. In many cases the attorneys involved, or the individuals who are parties to the case if they are engaging in “pro se” representation (acting on their own behalf without the benefit of legal counsel), may also wish to question expert witnesses outside of court, through a process known as a deposition, in order to acquire a thorough basis of knowledge from which to proceed in building a case.
Rule 702 of the Colorado Rules of Evidence establishes the criteria for calling an expert witness. Generally speaking, expert witnesses may be called to give their professional assessments of, or opinions on, any aspect of the case that may call for interpretation drawing on specialized knowledge. Scientific and technical fields tend to dominate the “specialized knowledge” category, but Rule 702 leaves the definition of expertise deliberately vague, as the types of specialized knowledge that may prove important can vary widely from case to case. Important to the requirement is the expectation that the application of the specialized knowledge, regardless of the field of expertise, will “assist the trier of fact” (in a Colorado divorce case, typically the judge or magistrate) to better understand the evidence or make a determination regarding a fact in issue in order to reach a fair, reasoned, and well-informed judgment.
In a divorce case, one of the most common types of expert witnesses to depose or call to testify during a hearing may be a forensic accountant. These professionals can be especially helpful in high net worth divorce cases where there may be a suspicion that one party may be employing underhanded means to conceal assets. A complete and accurate accounting of all of a couple’s assets – including even those assets that may be determined to constitute “separate” property not eligible for division – is essential to ensuring an equitable distribution of property in accordance with Colorado’s divorce laws, so an experienced family law attorney may hire a forensic accountant to investigate the couple’s finances and then depose the accountant to gain a thorough understanding of his or her findings prior to scheduling any expert testimony before the judge.
Expert witnesses may also be helpful in establishing the meaning of evidence derived from close scrutiny of either spouse’s social media history. Social media history and other digital records can prove significant in establishing a history of personal conduct that may have a bearing on child custody – also known as parenting time or parenting responsibility – questions in a number of divorce scenarios.
Additionally, while Colorado does not generally consider “marital misconduct” in making determinations regarding the disposition of marital property or awards for spousal support or maintenance, the law does require judges overseeing family law cases to consider each spouse’s reasonable needs in making determinations regarding such questions. Expert witnesses in medical or psychological fields may be called upon to help the judge presiding over a case better understand one party’s “reasonable needs” in support of one spouse’s request for support.
Expert witnesses can serve a number of functions in a Colorado divorce case. While not every divorce will call for expert opinions or testimony, an experienced family law attorney will be prepared to call on qualified experts when the need arises. To discuss the potential role of expert witnesses in your own divorce case with an experienced family law attorney in the Denver area, call the Littleton office of Colorado Divorce Law Group today at (720) 593-6442 today and schedule a consultation with a member of our team.
