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J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 35:1:112-117 (2007)
Copyright © 2007 by the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.
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ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

The Problem of Evasive Testimony: The Expert "Waffle"

Thomas G. Gutheil, MD

Dr. Gutheil is Professor of Psychiatry and Co-Founder, Program in Psychiatry and the Law, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Address correspondence to: Thomas G. Gutheil, MD, 6 Wellman Street, Brookline, MA 02446. E-mail: gutheiltg{at}cs.com

Confronted with a difficult, unexpected, or confrontational question, an expert witness may answer by attempting to overwhelm the questioner with words, sometimes highly evasive ones, that avoid, rather than actually address, the question asked. Such a discursive response is sometimes called a "waffle," as in "The expert's answer was a waffle." This review notes some examples of this phenomenon and attempts to categorize them in a meaningful way. An ancillary goal of this discussion may be to aid experts in focusing their answers.






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Copyright © 2007 by the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.