Introduction: Expert Testimony in the New Millennium

Abstract

With litigation growing increasingly more complex, the courtroom spotlight has centered on the expert witness. Generally, the outcome of the case turns on the testimony elicited from an expert, or on the party's inability to secure admission of such testimony. This special issue focuses on how expert testimony has moved from a supporting role into the forefront, and what issues security practitioners can expect to confront in light of the advances in expert testimony jurisprudence.

As discussed by Robert D. McCrie in The History of Expertise in Security Management Practice and Litigation, ‘security experts’ are a relatively new development in civil and criminal litigation. Unlike other industries that are based largely on scientific methodology, the security arena builds its experts through education, skills, and managerial experience. McCrie traces the origins of expert witnesses to the role they play today.