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"I know lots of people who say you're wrong!" 

"Really? Like who?" 

"Well, you know ... like ... lots of people."

The proverbial "they" as in, "You know what they say ..." Is among the laziest rejoinders in an argument. Instead of identifying problems of fact or logic, the person invents an imaginary consensus to suggest his or her opponent's position is nothing but a fringe outlier.

Certainly such a tactic has no place in the courtroom, right? After all, one of the main reasons to exclude...

With it being almost three years since People v. Sanchez, 63 Cal. 4th 665 (2016), most lawyers are at least familiar with its holding. Indeed, prior articles on this blog have summarized the case and explained how to question expert witnesses post-Sanchez. But with familiarity, certain details can be overlooked. Take Michael Jordan. The most casual fan has an instant memory of his storybook career with the Bulls, the multiple championships, even his brief retirement to give baseball a go. But pl...

The California Supreme Court recently answered this question in People v. Sanchez, 63 Cal. 4th 665 (2016) as follows: No—not if the hearsay communicates case-specific facts. While an expert may assume the existence of case-specific facts to explain his or her opinion, the expert cannot relay such facts and treat them as true. Sanchez is important for trial lawyers because it restores the distinction between general background hearsay (which can be relayed to a jury) and case-specific hearsay (wh...

In People v. Sanchez, 63 Cal. 4th 665 (2016), the California Supreme Court decided that an expert witness cannot relay hearsay that communicates case-specific facts to the jury. This post examines how trial lawyers can and should examine expert witnesses in the post-Sanchez era. 

As a starting point, practitioners should master familiarity with Evidence Code section 801. Section 801 sets forth the allowable limits on which expert witnesses may offer opinions as well as the allowable bases for o...