Day 092 - 27 Feb 95 - Page 39


     
     1        appears to be relying on.
     2
     3   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I do not, if I may say so, think that
     4        follows.  An expert is bound if you ask him why he says
     5        that if the answer is:  "Because I have read papers in
     6        relation to it".  It does not mean to say because you put
     7        something to him in cross-examination and he has responded
     8        by saying, in effect:  "Well, I have read about it here and
     9        there" that he has to produce everything.
    10
    11        The point is this, that if you are going to rely on the
    12        paper, for instance, if a witness of yours is going to
    13        refer to it, it is as well to start making sure now that
    14        you have sufficient copies for everyone and they are seen
    15        well in advance of the witness being called.  Just a
    16        cautionary mention.
    17
    18   MS. STEEL:   I will do that but this was actually something that
    19        Dr. Gomez Gonzalez said in-chief.  He said that there was
    20        not any pain.  The Plaintiffs have not provided any studies
    21        to back that up.
    22
    23   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, there may not be.  I maybe taking too
    24        simple an approach but I would have thought that quite a
    25        lot is known about the anatomy of chickens, may be not so
    26        much as about human physiology, but quite a lot is known.
    27        Someone who has been through the educational mill that Dr.
    28        Gomez Gonzalez has probably knows something about it.  So,
    29        that extent he is able to give a general answer.  One has
    30        to see what weight one attaches to it in the light of any
    31        contrary evidence from any other witness and any particular
    32        paper which is referred to.
    33
    34        The point being made at this stage is that if we are going
    35        to see the Edinburgh research, if it is specifically going
    36        to be replied upon, just make sure that you have plenty of
    37        copies and serve them on the other side in advance.  That
    38        is all.
    39
    40   MS. STEEL:   I mean, we will do that but it does concern me that
    41        it seems that the Plaintiffs experts can make all kinds of
    42        statements without providing scientific papers to back up
    43        what they are saying.  But, for reason, our experts are
    44        expected to provide every little paper that they might have
    45        read.
    46
    47   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That is not so.  Your experts can rely upon
    48        their general education and scientific knowledge.  One has
    49        to look in relation to each expert to see what the extent
    50        of it might be.  But all this arose purely and simply 
    51        because Mr. Rampton mentioned, in effect, that if there is 
    52        a particular paper which is going to be relied upon, let us 
    53        have copies well in advance.  There is nothing sinister
    54        about that.
    55
    56        We had it with the doctors.  We could not have Professor
    57        Crawford, Dr. Arnott and Professor Keen providing papers to
    58        support every matter of medical knowledge which they put
    59        forward from their own, no doubt, extensive memory banks,
    60        otherwise we every time someone made mention of circulation

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