Vote: continued

Item Text

22. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS OR CONTRACTS WITH EXPERT TRIAL WITNESSES Delegate to the directors of the Maricopa County Public Defense offices and the County Attorney the continued authority to enter into agreements or contracts with expert trial witnesses. No changes are required to the Procurement Code, as trial experts are already exempt from its provisions. There is no financial impact associated with this action. Historically the offices providing indigent legal representation and prosecution have contracted directly with expert witnesses to provide analysis, reporting, trial testimony, and associated research. This practice has been long established and is accompanied by a number of internal processes that ensure appropriate controls. Documentation of the delegated authority to enter into these contracts cannot be located. Therefore, this agenda item is intended to remedy the situation. Appellate courts have repeatedly held that, if the need legitimately exists, experts must be retained in order to properly present the litigants’ cases. In the criminal arena, scientific evidence has created a large demand for experts in specialties that did not exist as little as 10 years ago. The sheer number of requests for experts is such that to send them to the Board or the Chief Procurement Officer would be burdensome and time consuming. Further, the nature of the requests are such that they should not be public records or known to anyone outside the representation of the party seeking the services of the expert. If these requests are made public because they are channeled through either the Board or Procurement Officer, ethical problems will arise. Once the request is “published” to anyone outside the litigation team, it is no longer privileged. Violation of the privilege could result in Bar sanctions to the attorneys involved. (C-52-10-003-M-00)