REVIEWS and SEMINARS (Spring 97 issue)

Book - The Expert Witness Handbook. From time to time our Associates ask, "what is a good book on being an expert witness?"

While there are many books and newsletters on the subject, including this, MAC's the EXPERT, Dan Poynter has published an updated 2nd edition of his well known book, The Expert Witness Handbook. I reviewed parts of it in the draft stage and was impressed with the detail and useful advise he put in his book. It provides advice, explanations, guidelines, checklists, examples and resources for those interested in additional knowledge. I can think of no better place for the practicing or would-be expert to acquire useful information about being an expert witness.

This is not merely a book written about being an expert witness, it is one written by an expert witness. Dan Poynter has been an Associate of MAC for many years and specializes in parachute, skydiving and parasailing.

The Expert Witness Handbook is reasonably priced at $39.95 and may be obtained by calling (800) 727-2782.

CD-ROM - Coast Guard Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circulars, and Merchant Vessels of the United States.

If you are interested in interpretations of Coast Guard regulations or Coast Guard policy relating to the merchant marine industry, they are located in two publications, The Marine Safety Manual (MSM) and the Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circulars (NVIC's). Information on documented vessels is found within the List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. This publication was last published in the hardbound version in 1989.

Today, you can get two of these publications, the NVIC's and the List of Vessels on single CD-ROM prepared by the Coast Guard and available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 5285 Fort Royal Rd, Springfield, VA 22161 (703) 487-4650 for $40. The CD-ROM has an excellent search engine on it allowing sophisticated searches. The NVIC's are current up to 5-96.

More recent NVIC's can be obtained on line through our own web site (www.mac-experts.com). Soon all of them will be available on line.

You can also gain access to the third publication, the Marine Safety Manual, through our web site.

Seminar - National Expert Witness and Litigation Seminar - SEAK, the publisher of The Expert Witness Journal newsletter, and some books on subject matter of value to experts puts on an annual seminar for experts, and litigators interested in expert testimony. The sixth annual seminar will be held in Hyannis, Massachusetts on June 19 and 20, 1997.

Subjects to be covered include: A View from the Bench, Scientific Analysis, Protecting Your Good Name, Preparing for Cross Examination, Application of Daubert to Experts and Attorneys, Marketing Your Expert Witness Practice, Human Factor Investigations, Communications with Counsel, Investigating Expert's Background, Succeeding as an Expert Witness, Failure to Warn, Cross Examination of the Expert and much more.

The price is $395.00. More information may be obtained by calling them at (508) 540-8304 or writing to Seal, Inc. PO Box 729, Falmouth, MA 02541.

Software - Chart View. Nautical Software has come out with a new and exciting software program to place tides and currents on chart images. This company has been the leading edge in tide and current software which we have favorably reviewed previously. The new software takes the tide and current information from the latest version of Tides and Currents software and overlays them on a chart produced on your computer from electronic charts. BSB/NOAA charts, NDI/CHS charts and Maptech charts are supported. The charts are separately purchased and when displayed on your computer using Chart View software, can have current vectors and tide gauges displayed at locations where they are calculated by NOA. There is even an animated feature which will change the display at a rate selected by the user.

While this feature of the tides and currents is the new and exciting feature of this software, you can also add marks, annotations, track lines and range/bearing lines to your charts. It will show true, and magnetic headings using deviation and variation. You can also have it provide headings after taking the drift into account.

Accident reconstructionists can use the software in two different ways (and maybe more) to show the track line of a vessel or vessels leading up to an accident. After placing them on the chart and adding appropriate annotations, the result can be printed out on a laser printer on a transparency which then can be used on an overhead projector. The second, and more dramatic would be to use a laptop in the court room connected to a projector so that the screen image could be projected on a screen. With this setup, animation of the tides and currents can be used. If the laptop doesn't have a CD-ROM drive for the cart CD, the individual charts can be downloaded onto the hard disk in the office. The system will actually run faster using this method. It is a wonderful system for the navigator and because of its unique capability of overlaying tides and currents, especially suitable for the expert reconstructionist. The Tides and Currents program is available for $129.00 and the Chart View program for $99.00. Call Nautical Software to order (800) 946-2877 or fax at (503) 579-1304.

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