 Working Knowledge: Organizational Location and the Construction of Expert Authority in CourtTimothy L. O'Brien Social Science Quarterly, 2017, vol. 98, issue 5, 1677-1690 Abstract: Objective This 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. Methods I 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. Results Challenges 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. Conclusions Legal negotiations of experts’ credibility depend on their organizational location. This suggests that organizations may also shape the attribution of expertise in other settings. Date: 2017 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:socsci:v:98:y:2017:i:5:p:1677-1690 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Social Science Quarterly is currently edited by Robert L. Lineberry More articles in Social Science Quarterly from Southwestern Social Science Association |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.