From questions of property values in equitable distribution litigation to the psychological issues in custody cases, the domestic relations courts are awash in expertise, both real and contrived. It falls to the trial advocate to present the information that the court needs so that it can distinguish reliable testimony from the ersatz expertise that too often slithers into the courtroom.
One long-entrenched method of doing so is impeachment by treatise1 which consists of confronting the witness with published writings of respected figures in the field that contradict the expert’s testimony in some respect. Perhaps because this technique has been around for so long it tends to eclipse the broader importance of professional literature in measuring both the admissibility of and the weight to be accorded to an expert’s testimony. This article will examine the central position that professional literature occupies in the psychology expert’s world and its crucial evidentiary role in providing the very basis underlying expert opinions.
Impeachment by Treatise
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