Federal expert witness work

[LadyHalcyon]

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I plan on reaching out to the appropriate licensing board and/or contacting my professional liability insurance; however, in the meantime I figured it couldn't hurt to ask here.

Anyone know where an expert witness needs to be licensed for criminal federal work? Is it where the defendant is evaluated, the location of the specific District Court, or both?

 

[mdwpsyd]

Assuming you evaluate the defendant in-person, within a jurisdiction where you are licensed, you will be able to testify (all other things being equal), even if the District Court is located in another jurisdiction.

 

[WisNeuro]

Assuming you evaluate the defendant in-person, within a jurisdiction where you are licensed, you will be able to testify (all other things being equal), even if the District Court is located in another jurisdiction.

I'd double check, for other federal institutions, you are conducting the services on federal property (e.g., VA services), and as such as long as you have any active license nationwide, you are good. OP, if this is BoP, I'd assume they have some sort of manual similar to the VA that outlines the rules and regs.

 

[Cantab109]

Yes, in the BOP you just need an active license somewhere in the U.S. The state doesn't matter.

 

[prisonpsych2020]

Yes, in the BOP you just need an active license somewhere in the U.S. The state doesn't matter.

If you are a BOP employee, yes. If you are performing second opinion/independent evaluations for patients/inmates in federal custody, I would imagine you need to be licensed in the state where the evaluation is conducted.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I'd also guess that it's where the evaluation is conducted. Some states allow some amount of temporary practice without licensure, but I don't know if/how this might play into functioning as an expert witness.