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13 April 2018 / Mark Solon
Issue: 7788 / Categories: Features , Expert Witness , Profession
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Out of your depth?

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When will they ever learn? Mark Solon shares some expert advice for experts in the dock

Yet again experts need to learn that their duty is to the court and that they must stay within the area of their expertise, Gross LJ said this in the judgment in R v Pabon [2018] EWCA Crim 420, [2018] All ER (D) 114 (Mar) Court of Appeal, Criminal Division last month. He went on to say the sole test for the Court of Appeal when deciding whether to allow or dismiss an appeal against conviction is whether that conviction is unsafe. Pabon’s appeal was dismissed but there are lessons for experts and lawyers.

The appellant, Alex Pabon, together with a number of co-defendants, faced a count of conspiracy to defraud, alleging that they dishonestly rigged LIBOR. Few had heard of LIBOR before the case thinking it perhaps a mispronounced opposition political party but it is vital in the pricing of money. Gross LJ helpfully explained the term LIBOR for the uninitiated: ‘LIBOR is the shorthand for the

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