Independent Opinion
Definition
An assessment governed by evidence and methods rather than the outcome preferred by an instructing party. An expert should give an objective assessment within demonstrated competence and disclose material limitations.
- Context
- Expert practice
For example, the same material and analytical question should receive an objective assessment regardless of which party prefers the resulting conclusion.
New information can require a documented change of opinion.
Exact declarations and disclosure routes depend on the proceedings. Payment by a party does not justify selective reporting or an opinion chosen to achieve its preferred outcome.
Related terms
- Activity-Level Opinion
- An interpretation concerning proposed events or activities, requiring a suitable inferential basis beyond identifying material. An examiner may identify an insect and...
- Confidence Interval
- A confidence interval is a range produced by a statistical procedure with specified long-run coverage under its assumptions. It concerns a defined...
- Daubert Considerations
- Flexible reliability considerations associated with US federal expert-evidence jurisprudence, not a worldwide checklist. US federal reliability assessment considers the principles, data and...
- Daubert Standard
- A US federal reliability framework with flexible considerations, not four mandatory conditions used identically worldwide. US federal reliability assessment considers the principles,...
- Expert Duty
- The applicable obligations of an expert, including independence and disclosure as required by the jurisdiction and proceedings. An expert should give an...
- Expert Opinion
- A specialised assessment within demonstrated expertise, distinguished from observed facts and legal conclusions. An expert applies specialised knowledge to stated information and...
- Frye Standard
- A general-acceptance framework retained in some US jurisdictions, distinct from a universal worldwide expert-evidence rule. The governing rule should be verified for...
- Sensitivity Range
- Results under specified alternative inputs, distinct from a confidence interval. Sensitivity analysis examines how a result changes when specified inputs or assumptions...
- Voir Dire
- A term for particular legal questioning or hearings, whose purpose and procedure depend on the jurisdiction. Its exact use depends on the...