Thanks much for allowing me to join this forum--this is my first post. I have a law degree but am not a practicing attorney--am a forensic dentist by trade at a county office and I am doing research for a paper.

If an expert witness is on the prosecution's witness list and he discovers exculpatory evidence, does the expert have any further duty under Brady besides advising the DA's office? In particular, if the expert becomes aware that material exculaptory evidence was not disclosed, does the expert have any duty to disclose? Could the expert (if found to be a state actor) be liable in a sec. 1983 civil rights suit for non-disclosure?

Welcome to the TDCAA Bulletin Boards. The discussions in these user forums are for the benefit of prosecutors and their staff members, although we welcome relevant and appropriate input from other members of the criminal justice and government lawyer community. The opinions expressed on this forum are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of TDCAA, its staff, or any other member of the association. These forums are NOT a source of legal advice for citizens. Call the State Bar of Texas (800/204-2222) for information on seeking legal advice.

My apologies if my questions were inappropriate. I am not seeking legal advice--I am writing a paper on contracting with the expert witness, and questions came up about expert witness liability in light of the Mass. case Burke v. Town of Walpole, 405 F.3d 66. In that case, out-of-state "independent contractor" dental expert witnesses who had given opinions about a bitemark were deemed to be state actors and became defendants in a 1983 suit. The experts were dismissed from the suit on the basis of qualified immunity under the narrow facts of the case. I understand, though, that asking about hypotheticals might not be helpful, and, again, I apologize.

No problem. Please feel free to post here in the future, just understand that our members have to be careful about providing legal information to the general public (due to some of the same liability and immunity issues you may be writing about).

Dr. Metcalf is the nicest guy ever. He forgave me the time I locked him in the courthouse one night after trial finished for the day. Nothing like checking your voicemail at around 9:00 pm and hearing your witness say that he's still in the office but all the lights are off and nobody is around and he's not sure what to do. Good times. Thanks again for being such a sport, Doc!!! And congrats on finishing law school!!!