Written questions to experts are one of the most useful and most under used tools in public children law. In this webinar, presented by Margaret Parr, you will learn how to formulate questions that clarify an expert's report, narrow the issues and, wherever possible, remove the need for the expert to attend the final hearing.
The session works through the basis and timing of questions under Family Procedure Rules Part 25, in particular the 25.10 procedure, and shows how the courts have allowed written questions to do more than simply clarify. It also covers the related powers to direct a discussion between experts under FPR 25.16 and the test for requiring an expert to attend court under FPR 25.9(2).
Drawing on Muchna v Allen, Daniels v Walker, A County Council v A [2018], Kennedy v Cordia and Re C (Parental Alienation) [2023], the webinar shows how to interrogate the literature an expert relies on, scrutinise regulation and qualifications, and keep expert evidence within its proper limits, including in cases involving alleged alienating behaviours.
Key Takeaways
- FPR 25.10 lets a party put written questions about an expert's report to another party's expert or to a single joint expert, and this opportunity should be used deliberately rather than missed.
- Following Muchna v Allen on the equivalent civil rule, written questions can go beyond simple clarification and cover matters that would otherwise be explored in cross-examination, where that helps resolve the issues.
- A well-framed question can narrow the issues and remove the need for the expert to give oral evidence, while a poorly put question wastes the opportunity.
- The court can direct a discussion between experts under FPR 25.16, and the test for requiring an expert to attend is whether it is necessary in the interests of justice under FPR 25.9(2).
- Always check the status and judicial treatment of the literature an expert relies on, as illustrated by the Ehlers-Danlos evidence in A County Council v A [2018].
- Kennedy v Cordia and Re C (Parental Alienation) [2023] confirm that expert evidence is not an open house: check regulation, HCPC registration and remit, and remember that alienation is a question of fact for the court, not a diagnosis.
Formulating Written Questions for Expert Witnesses in Public Children Law
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