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JosephV.R.PaivaNSAPLS January2018
® Courts,legalprofession,dealwithambiguities® Bothsideshavefacts;whichsideprevails?® Testimony,evidenceandargumentsareusedtofurthereachside’sclaims
® Surveyorsaskedtoprovidetestimony0nmeasurementandanalysisofpropertylinesandotherpoints,lines,planesandvolumesonthesurfaceoftheearth
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® Evenifnolawsuitpending,surveyormustbepreparedtoanswerthesequestions…
® Itiswhatwedo!
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® Itisthesurveyor’sprofessionalresponsibilitytoconducthimorherselfasifitis
® Thatis,factsmustbedocumented;decisionsmustberecordedwithunderlyingreasoningproperlylaidout
® Therearemanyreasons“why”or“what”isaskedthatarenotconnectedwithalawsuitbutastotheproprietyofasurveyor’sprofessionalconduct
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® Testimony® Dealingwiththeissue(thesamewayyoutackleanyotherproblem)
® Ethicalresponsibility® Surveyor’sreport® Skillsdevelopment
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® CaseA:Disputedevelopsafterthesurveyor’sworkiscompleted
® CaseB:Disputedevelopsfirstandsurveyorishiredasexpert
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® Ifsurveyorperformedworknotthinkingabouthowtodefendworkincourt,testimonycouldfaceobstaclestobeingadmitted
® Inspiteofallthewarnings,howmanysurveyorsroutinelyperformtheirworkasiftheyhadbeenhiredasanexpert?
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® Clientisusuallyattorney® Surveyorhastomakeitclearthathis/herworkisnotguaranteedtodevelopcaseonclient’sbehalf
® Expert’sstatusisthatofanimpartialwitness;thusfindingsmustbethesameregardlessofwhichsidedoesthehiring
® However,interpretationswithrespecttothelawmustbelefttothelawyers,butsurveyorscanadviseonprosandcons
® Extracarefulprepandattentiontodetailisreq’d
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® Whatdoestheexpertdo?® Doestheaveragesurveyorknowwhatitentails?® Isthelegalandjudicialprocessamystery?Ifso,thelikelihoodoffailureasanexpertishigh
® Canthesurveyorspeak(andwrite)withauthority?
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® WhetherCaseAorCaseB,thiscourseofferstipson Howtobeabetterexpert Tounderstandwhatisexpected Howtobeatrueprofessionalinprovidingtheseservices
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® Understanditfirst® Figureouthowtotackleit® Communicateoftenandwell® (always!)
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® Onceaneedforanexperthasbeenidentifiedandthesurveyorhired,theproblemmustbewell-definedfirst
® Developplanonhowtoattackit;outlinealternatepathsincaseprimaryisblocked
® Dataiscollected® Analysisdone® Opinion(s)rendered® Judgmentsformed
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® Thesurveyormustbeginwithadiscussionwithclientastotheissues;readingreports,legaldocumentsfiled,perhapsotherexpertopinionsmustberead
® Surveyordevelopsplanofattack® Thentheplanmustbecommunicatedwithattorney
® Agreed-uponschedulesmustbefollowed
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® Leavenostoneunturned® Surveysarenottheonlymeansforgatheringdata® Lookatsimilarcases® Oppositeexperts’opinions;dataandanalysis® Evenoppositeexpert’sofficeandfieldequipment® Documentadnauseum(photographs,testimony,certifiedcopies,contactinformationofpartiesprovidinginformation,etc.)
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® Bepainstakingintheanalysis® Takeeverystepwiththoughtabouthowtodefendit
® Beconstantlythinkingabouthowtocommunicatetheprocess,resultsandconclusions
® Document
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® Oralincourt(i.e.fromthewitnessbox)supplementedwithexhibits,surveys,focusedsurveysand“cartoons”
® Depositions—oral® Interrogatories—written® Allyournotesandrecords(fromeverysource)® Surveyor’s(written)reportoropinions® [Youcan’twriteaboutitifyoucan’ttalkaboutit]
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® FormatandcontentMUSTbediscussedwithattorney
® Followattorney’sinstructions,butdonothesitatetoexpressyouropinion
® Beginreportwithwhatyouwilldoinitandhowyouwillreachyouropinions,usingwhatdataandinformation
® Listbiographicalinformationestablishingyouasexpertinthismatter(includecompensationandstatethatitisnotdependentoncaseoutcome)
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® Listgroupsofinformationconsideredinformingopinions
® Summaryofopinions® Opinionsseparatedbycategories,togetherwithdetailedanalysis,explanations,illustrations,footnotes,citations,etc.
® Closewithconclusionandsignature
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® Whilewemakejudgmentsfromouranalysisandtheopinionsweform,attorneyandjudgesaren’talwaysreceptivetoussayingso
® Bealwayssituationallyaware.Evenifyoumakejudgmentsdon’talwayscallthemthat.
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® “Ihavebeenretainedby…“® “Ihavebeenaskedtoexpressopinions…on(a)basedon…;(b)basedon…;(c)basedon….“
® Providefullc.v.asappendix;includefactspertinenttocaseinbodyofreport
® “InformingmyopinionsIreliedprimarilyon…”® “Itismyopinion,basedon…,that<claims>,<statements>,<conclusions>,<analysis>,<conclusions>…areincorrect”
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® “Iwillfurtherdemonstratethat…is/areactually…,leadingtotheconclusionthatX’sclaimsareincorrect/premature/flawed/incomplete/inconsequential…”
® Include“Iampreparedtotestifyastothesematters…”
® Whendescribinganalysisandconclusions,explaineverywordorphrasethatisnotinthecommonU.S.Englishvernacular
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® Whenexplainingtermsquotefromwell-acceptedreferences(learnhowtoattributetobooks,articles,internetpages,speeches,interviews,catalogs,etc.)
® Particularlypayattentiontothelawyer’sstandardstyleofformalwriting
® Illustrateprofuselywithdiagrams,blowups,photographs,cartoons,similarsituations
® Explainpurposeofeachcalculationandadjustment® Indicatehowyourequipmentwasused,checkedandcalibratedoradjusted
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® Quotefreelyfromtheappropriatedictionarytoexplainnon-standardandstandardwordsusedbyyouandothers
® Donotbeshy® Ifadetailbyoppositeexpertsisnotproperlydocumentedorexplained,attheveryleastsaythat“…Y’smethodissilentonthesubjectof…,andthusthereliabilityofhis/heropinionissuspect.”
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® SteveKenney&JohnBorking,TheValueofPrivacyEngineering,2002(1)J.Info.L.&Tech.,https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/elj/jilt/2002_1/kenny.
® AmericanBarAssociation,SectiononLegalEducationandAdmissionstotheBar,Statistics,http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/statistics.html(lastvisitedDec.14,2017).
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® HenryJulianAbraham,Justices,Presidents,andSenators290-95(5thed.2008).
® WayneR.LaFave&AustinW.Scott,CriminalLaw§5.4(2ded.1986).
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® Fullydocumentallsiteconditionsincludingweather(sky,temp,barometricpressure,humidity,precipitation)atvariouspartsoftheday
® Rememberthatyouarediscussingfacts;ifyougethypothetical,beveryclearthatyouareanalyzingandopiningonahypotheticalsituation
® Recordandreportotherenvironmentalandsitedata;e.g.trainsgobythissite…thescheduleis…
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® Thejudge,jury,ifthere’sone,lawyers,arealllaypeoplewhenitcomestosurveying,ifyouarenotsurehe/she/theyunderstandit,breakitdownforthem…explainit.
® Usetextbooklanguage;avoidcommoninformalterms(gun,pin,peg,stake,PK,MH,CL,FL,etc.)
® Donottrytobeeconomicalwithtimeorspaceonpaperorexhibits…gettingyourpointacrossisprime!
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® Havesomeonewithaneditor’seyereadandedityourwrittenstatements
® Sometimeseditorsspecializeindifferenttypesofservices(readabilityvs.copyediting),soselectcarefullyandknowingly
® Brevityisnotadesirableattributewhenimportantinformationisleftout…justdon’tmakeitsocomplicatedtheydon’tunderstand!
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® Detailedrecordsofwhodidwhat® Onlykeepwhatispertinenttowhatyoudid® Alwaysreviewformaterialthatcanbemisinterpreted
® Learntoexamineyourdocumentationandotherworkasifbeingcross-examined
® Especiallydocumentqualityassurancetechniques(field,officeandelsewhere)
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Tape Length 0.01 Temperature 15o F Tension (pull) 5.4 lbs Sag 7.5” at center Alignment 1.4 ft at one end or 7.5” at center Tape Not Level 1.4 ft diff in elevation Plumbing 0.01 Marking 0.01 Interpolation 0.01
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Source Error (ft.) Error2 Tape Length Known 0.000000 Temp (10o F error) 0.006 0.000036 Tension (5 lb error) 0.009 0.000081 Alignment (0.05 ft) 0.000 0.000000 Tape Not Level (0.5 ft) 0.001 0.000001 Plumbing 0.005 0.000025 Marking 0.001 0.000001 Interpolation 0.001 0.000001 SUM 0.023 0.000145
Sq Rt of Sum of Errors2 = 0.012 ft
1: 8,000 OR 120 PPM 32
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Source Error (ft.) Error2 Length Known 0.000000 Temp (10o F error) 5 PPM = 0.0005 0.00000025 Pressure (1” Hg) 5 PPM = 0.0005 0.00000025 Centering with pole 0.03 0.0009 Centering w/O.P. 0.005 0.000025 Mfr’s error constant 0.003 0.000009 Mfr’s error scale 3 PPM = 0.0003 0.00000009 SUM 0.0393 0.000093459
Sq Rt of Sum of Errors2 = 0.0306 ft
1: 3,000 OR 306 PPM 33©2018J.V.R.Paiva
Source Error (ft.) Error2 Length Known 0.000000 Temp (10o F error) 5 PPM = 0.025 0.000625 Pressure (1” Hg) 5 PPM = 0.025 0.000625 Centering w/O.P. 0.005 0.000025 Centering w/O.P. 0.005 0.000025 Mfr’s error constant 0.003 0.000009 Mfr’s error scale 3 PPM = 0.015 0.000225 SUM 0.078 0.001534
Sq Rt of Sum of Errors2 = 0.03917 ft
1: 127,000 OR 8 PPM 34©2018J.V.R.Paiva
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Source Error (ft.) Error2 Length Known 0.000000 Tropospheric delays 0.0025 m = 0.008 ft 0.000067 Centering w/O.P. 0.005 0.000025 Centering w/O.P. 0.005 0.000025 Mfr’s error constant 0.01 m = 0.03281 0.001076 Mfr’s error scale 2 PPM = 0.005 0.000025 SUM 0.05581 0.001218
Sq Rt of Errors2 = 0.0349 ft
1:72,000 OR 14 PPM
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® Fromthebeginning,ifwarranted,thesurveyormuststressthathisorheropinionontheessentialfactsmaycausethecasetocollapse
® Theclientmustbeprepared;ifanattorney,theyshouldunderstand
® Thisrequiresahighstandardofcommunicationfromthesurveyor—fortransmittinginformation,andforreceivingit
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® Ateverystepoftheway,thesurveyormustbeevaluatingtheclient’slikelihoodforsuccess
® Factsandopinionsadversetotheclient’scasemustbecommunicated,assoonaspracticable,withfulldisclosure
® Surveyormustbeinapositionofcompetenceandstatustoinfluencedecisions,includingwhethertocontinueprosecutionofthecase
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® Easytoviolatesimplybybeingcareless® Justdon’ttalkaboutthecaseuntilcompletelyconcluded
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® Self-assess® Askthirdparties® Findyourstrengthsandweaknesses® Workonhowtoneutralizetheweaknesses
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® Booksandarticlesonevidence,especiallyiftheyrelatetotechnicalissues
® Storiesaboutsurveyor’sexperiencesasexpertwitnesses
® SurveyingtheCourtroom,JohnBriscoe® TheExpertWitnessHandbook,DanPoynter
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® Anexpertwitnessisconsideredespeciallylearned
® Butanyprofessionalwhoisofalearnedprofession,assurveyingis,issupposedtoatleastbe“ordinarily”learned
® Havinganextensivelibraryandbeingwellreadonscienceandliteratureofthepast,presentandcuttingedgeisallrequiredtobeproperlysuccessful
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® Ifyouareweakinthisarea,developgoodwritinghabitsonyourown,throughcourses,etc.
® Readgoodliterature® Havegoodreferencesonhowtowrite,howtocite,etc.
® Technicalwritingisdifferentfromliterarywriting.Butknowledgeofonegreatlyimprovesone’schancesatdoingwellattheother.
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® Talktolawyers,othersurveyors,evenifyouarenotinvolvedinalawsuit
® Donotacceptasingleopinionor“fact”asrepresentingthetruthaboutwhatyouwillencounter
® Developyourownskillsforassessingsituations,understandingambiguitiesandarrivingatconclusions
® Don’thesitatetoaskforadvicefrom,orhiresomeone,toadvisewhohasmoreexperience
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® Self-evaluatehow…® Youcommunicateideas® Explaintechnicalthingstonon-technicalpeople® Simplify,useanalogies,toincreaseclarity,butnotleaveoutimportantinformation
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