Working Knowledge: Organizational Location and the Construction of Expert Authority in Court

Abstract

ObjectiveThis article investigates the role of organizations in the construction of expert authority by examining legal disputes about the credibility of expert witnesses who work for consulting firms, in academia, and in private practice offices and clinics.MethodsI analyzed 472 deliberations of expert witness credibility summarized in judicial opinions from civil rights, patent infringement, and medical malpractice cases in U.S. district courts. Binary logistic regressions tested whether lawyers’ challenges to experts’ credibility or judges’ decisions to admit or exclude experts’ testimony differed according to experts’ organizational location.ResultsChallenges to experts’ credibility and decisions about their admissibility reflected the organizational context of experts’ labor. Overall, consultants were most likely and private practitioners were least likely to overcome credibility challenges and be admitted into court.ConclusionsLegal negotiations of experts’ credibility depend on their organizational location. This suggests that organizations may also shape the attribution of expertise in other settings.