During criminal trials in criminal and civil cases, it is often necessary to conduct various examinations. It is not necessary to think that it is impossible to challenge the expert’s verdict. If you do not agree with his decision, you have the power to challenge it. Read on how to appeal an expert’s opinion if you are not satisfied with the results of his work.
The concept and types of expertise
Firstly, it is worth noting that the examinations that may be required when considering a particular legal case are quite diverse. To establish the truth in certain categories of disputes (administrative, criminal, civil, arbitration, etc.), special knowledge in various fields of science, art, technology, etc. may be required. To prove the necessary facts, a judge very often needs the help of those or other specialists. Modern opportunities are quite large, therefore, in our country hundreds of types of expert opinions are appointed annually.
Here are the most common ones:
- engineering;
- psychiatric;
- automotive;
- fire and technical;
- medical;
- linguistic;
- psychological;
- graphological;
- examination of photographs;
- forensic;
- sound and video recordings;
- art history;
- accounting;
- physical and chemical;
- merchandising;
- others.
Problems of expert structures
Public reform processes have led to the emergence of, in addition to government bureaus, many “independent” structures. On the one hand, this is a positive phenomenon, since in this way the principle of competition in the search for truth can be realized. But on the other hand, this creates fertile ground for unscrupulous professionals.
Forensic authorities belong to the system of the Ministry of Justice. At the same time, there are departmental bodies under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, customs, and security.
False Examinations
Very often, the outcome of the case depends on the conclusions of the experts. In order to rig the examination results in any way, the parties often begin to use various tricks. But despite the fact that a false expert opinion is criminally punishable, some experts still take such a risk. Therefore, if you have strong doubts about the veracity of the conclusion, you may well appeal it.
It may be that the expert came to a certain conclusion not intentionally, but erroneously. Alas, there is still a practice in our country when people get diplomas not for knowledge, but thanks to bribes and connections. Many people think that such a conclusion is indisputable evidence that is unrealistic to challenge. But this is not so. According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, no evidence in a case can have an established force in advance. In judicial practice, there are a huge number of examples where the principle of independence of an expert was grossly violated, and the facts were laid out in favor of one of the participants in the judicial dispute completely illegally.
Appeal Algorithm
The participant in the trial (or his representative) has the authority to challenge the results of the examination. How to appeal an expert opinion? It is necessary to protest the results of the examination through the bureau (body) that originally conducted it, or you can immediately file a protest with the main bureau. The parties are given a month to appeal the examination from the day of receipt of its results.
An application with a personal signature of the participant in this case or his legal representative is submitted to the authority that conducted the examination. The following details are entered here:
- name of the structure to which the complaint is filed;
- name of the applicant;
- an indication of the reasons why a particular expert opinion is subject to appeal.
Copies of the documents that appear in the case, as well as the copy of the examination itself, are attached to such a statement. If such a paper will be filed by the representative of the party in the court case, then an additional power of attorney, confirming his authority.
Second phase
After receiving the application for appeal of the results of the examination with the consent of the applicant, the chief expert must entrust the second analysis to another group of specialists from his bureau. The applicant (or his representative) may appeal the decision of the chief expert. How to appeal the expert opinion in this case? For this, a complaint must be submitted to the Federal Bureau within a month.
The Federal Bureau may delegate the expertise to another Bureau, but only if the applicant agrees. If the Federal Bureau will be directly involved in the review of the expert’s decision, then he will be given 30 days to conduct the examination.
Third stage
If the participant in the dispute does not agree with the conclusion of the Federal Bureau, then in this case the expert’s opinion will be evaluated only in court. For this, a relevant application is submitted, which indicates:
- name of the judicial authority;
- information about the applicant;
- a list of all bodies that were involved in the examination;
- an indication of an expert decision.
Such a paper necessarily indicates the reason why the expert’s opinion causes the citizen doubts (that is, specific reasons that may indicate the untruthfulness of the expert’s opinion). The legal representative of the applicant may also submit an application. Copies of all examinations made, as well as a decision from the Federal Bureau, should be attached to the application.
Expert opinion in criminal proceedings
The role of an expert in criminal investigations is one of the key. When identifying many crimes requires the help of experts from various fields. The Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation states that an expert’s opinion may constitute a study and conclusions on issues that are provided in writing to a specialist by a person who is involved in the production of a criminal case.
The objects of research can be various documents, material evidence, objects, corpses and their parts, animals and materials of the case in which the investigation is being conducted.
A forensic examination can be carried out not only during the course of a judicial investigation or trial, but even before the initiation of a criminal case. Since the conclusions of experts play a crucial role in the criminal process, a false expert opinion may even lead to the fact that an innocent person will be imprisoned. Therefore, for such actions, the specialist also bears criminal responsibility.
Attracting an Expert
If the investigator considers it appropriate to involve an expert in the investigation, then an appropriate decision is made. If the accused and the suspect must be sent to a forensic or forensic psychiatric examination, the investigator will petition for this through the court. In addition, already during the trial one of the parties can submit a petition for a forensic examination. The court, if necessary, may decide to conduct such an examination on its own initiative.
It is worth noting that the expert’s opinion as evidence in criminal proceedings is one of the most important aspects. If there are significant doubts about the authenticity of the results, be sure to insist on challenging this data.
If the parties were against the results of the examination, then they can present questions to the expert in writing. After each side determines the questions, the court hears the opinion of all participants on this matter. Having studied the questions from the participants in the case, the court has the power to reject those that are either not related to the criminal case, or are not within the competence of the expert. Having formulated new questions, the judge again sends them to the expert.
Additional expertise
If the judge reveals any contradictions between the results of the examination and the case file, he may order an additional examination. A second withdrawal of specialists will be required if it becomes clear that a deliberately false expert opinion was given.
At the same time, if the uncertainties of the examination can be established by interrogating a specialist, the court can do this at the hearing.
What is an investigator required to establish?
The investigator, if necessary, can establish the following facts through a forensic examination:
- causes of death and degree of harm;
- the physical and mental state of the accused or suspect;
- the state of the victim (mental and physical);
- the age of the accused, the victim, if there are no documents confirming his age or if his age is in doubt (if such data are important for the criminal case).
Role of an expert in civil matters
The expert opinion in the civil process also plays an important role. This category of cases does not imply a preliminary investigation - here you can apply for an examination directly at the hearing. According to civil law, an examination can be primary and repeated. The second one is usually appointed if the conclusions of the specialist do not agree with other reliable facts in the case. It can also be appointed if during the primary there were committed violations of procedural rules. For example, if the examination was entrusted to a person interested in the case. Such a conclusion and expert testimony may not correspond to reality.
If the establishment of certain facts requires knowledge from various fields of science, then a comprehensive examination is carried out. Typically, this type of research is entrusted to several experts at once. However, if the qualification of a specialist allows you to completely carry out all the research, then he can do it himself. In the civil process, a wide variety of examinations are often required (the opinion of an expert accountant, physician, engineer, merchandiser, etc.)
If, nevertheless, the judge has doubts about the objectivity of the expert, he can make a decision on conducting a collective study. During this examination, experts consult among themselves and draw a general conclusion. If one of them does not agree with the opinion of colleagues, then he has the right to give a separate expert opinion in a civil proceeding.
Appointment of expertise at the request of the parties
Participants in the civil process also have the right to submit questions to the court that they would like to clarify through examination. If the judge decides to reject any of them, then he must motivate it. In addition, the parties to civil cases are endowed with the following powers:
- ask for an examination at a specific institution or from a specific expert;
- get acquainted with the results of the examination;
- declare a challenge to the specialist;
- get acquainted with the court ruling on the appointment of the examination;
- apply for a re-examination.
Conclusion
We figured out how to appeal the expert’s opinion in criminal and civil proceedings. Remember: the conclusion of a specialist is not the final verdict. If you have significant doubts about its veracity, be sure to appeal such a document. The outcome of the case very often depends on the correctness of the examination. Therefore, never neglect the opportunity to establish justice.