Court reports · digital evidence in Hull
A report is only worth something if it can stand scrutiny. The opposing party will pay someone to look at every detail and find fault with everything the report says. If a report has been prepared simply to make whoever paid for it happy, it may be fine for now but it will not survive scrutiny from anyone else. In fact, this is why CPR Part 35 is designed to preclude exactly such a thing happening; the duties owed by experts to the court take precedence over their obligations to the person who instructed them, their solicitor, and the fee they earn. Solicitors and insurers across Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire understand this. Our work starts here.
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| Type of report | Where it gets used | What it contains |
|---|---|---|
| Only a findings report | First advice, HR cases, decisions taken at board level etc. | What turned up, how we arrived at it, and what it actually means, explained in simple terms. |
| Insurance/loss claim reports. | Disputes regarding causation, degree of damage/liability etc. | The results/findings/exhibits used to explain how the loss occurred. |
| CPR Part 35 expert reports. | England/Wales civil litigation. | First and foremost, an obligation to the court; secondly, a summary of the instructions; thirdly, the full process used to produce the report; fourthly, the signed statements of truth and compliance. |
| CrimPR Part 19 expert report | Criminal cases going through the criminal court system | The criminal form: the expert's background qualifications, what makes a court decide whether something is reliable, and credibility declared |
| Single joint expert | Both parties appointing the same expert. | A single document to be used by both parties. Duty owed to the court (above both parties) |
This commences with a confidential discussion, and there is no cost involved. These three elements will define the remainder of our work together: What happened? How extensive is this issue (machines, accounts etc.)? And what does the data/evidence need to prove? Together these three factors establish the scope. The scope defines the fixed fee. You have this fixed fee in writing prior to any equipment being examined.
A summary of your letter of instruction will be included in our report, in our own words. Alongside the summary will be details regarding our credibility, including but not limited to: an independent laboratory, not accredited. Much better to include this information clearly on page one, than have to explain it later under cross-examination.
All steps will be completed and documented on the assumption that the opposing party's expert is scrutinising each step as he/she searches for the weakest link. That is his/her role. None of the conclusions in our reports will favour either party based upon which party retained our services.
The venue determines the format. Civil matters follow CPR Part 35 whilst criminal matters follow CrimPR Part 19. Each provides the same components: written methodology; exhibits; an uninterrupted record of who had custody of which items at any given time; the two declarations. The conclusion will appear at the top of the report and technical information will be provided in an annex.
Reports that cannot be tested will be worth little. Therefore, the bundle includes all of the work: exhibits, images, logs of handovers, hashes of everything and notes taken at the time. A third party (the opposing side's expert) can simply repeat our process and reach the same point we reached.
One thing to ask of any expert you're evaluating: The Criminal Procedure Rules state an expert must reveal anything that could potentially call into doubt their credibility. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidelines also point to a lack of accreditation as an example of such. If an expert fails to inform you of this, they are passing that problem on to you. Our lack of accreditation is stated at the front of each report produced from here.
One shared folder, two companies, two versions of accounts that did not match each other. The imaging revealed that both files were modified, and created a timeline that supported no argument against the facts established. The matter was resolved in less than a month.
A findings report answers two questions: what did we find? And how did we arrive at our findings? A court report contains all of those items plus the duty owed to the court, instructions provided in summary form, the method and history of exhibits (from start-to-finish), signed statements of truth & compliance, and any objection the opposing party may have regarding your expert.
The court's. Who pays for the bill does not matter. The duty supersedes anything due to whoever provided the instructions, and that is the reason for having the report.
Yes. One report, one set of conclusions, sent to both parties at the same time. No drafts are ever seen by anyone first, nor does anyone get to influence word choices.
The rules state it must be disclosed so it goes on the front page, not as a footnote. The court examines method. That is what gives an opinion weight, and where all effort should go. Reports fail because they claim too much, not because there wasn't a certificate.
More time with material means more time to develop and document what the material shows, weaknesses included, along with how the material was handled. Log a job. Our initial review costs nothing, and whatever you tell us remains confidential.