[cardiffspaceman]

In my experience as a juror at a criminal trial in California, it was not left to general understanding that the anti-DNA expert called by the defense was paid by the defense. The prosecution got it in right at the beginning of their cross exam. of the expert.

In the opening 'graphs of TFA the People should be paying experts, police officers and prosecutors, and the police and DAs should be deciding on the viability and priority of the case as they do for convenience store robberies etc.

Imagine if "Rich man" had a wife who was killed and a "Poor man" who he wanted to see convicted of the murder. Now you have police and DAs who are clearly on the take and the conviction can be funded by "Rich man". And "Rich man" can supply the "evidence" and the "experts" who explain it.

[CocaKoala]

I don't know what 'TFA' is, but you say that it says experts should be paid, so I don't understand what your argument is here.

The second scenario you describe is clearly corrupt, but I don't see how paying a consultant for their time is the objectionable part; when you stack that against a DA on the take, a police force on the take, and a rich man fabricating evidence, that all seems like a larger problem to me than "the rich man can pay an expert to testify about their expertise", especially given that the testimony of the expert witness can be challenged.

[astura]

>I don't know what 'TFA' is

TFA is "the fucking article."

It's derived from RTFA - "read the fucking article," something said when someone makes a comment that is addressed in the article. However "TFA" doesn't have the same rudeness that "RTFA" has and doesn't imply anyone didn't read the article.

[cardiffspaceman]

I think the original expansion was as you say, but some people think of it as "Fine article", which I personally do. I have read comments which said "OP" and meant the fine article, and other comments where "OP" meant some top-level comment. So it's nice to have a shorthand that hasn't been degraded in specificity.

[4ntonius8lock]

The second scenario is what you are commenting on. Literally. It's in the article.

For those of us that like to read and think and then comment, it can be frustrating talking with people who are just gratifying their ego by putting out words with no idea of what the topic even is.

[CocaKoala]

And you'll note that I said the second scenario is awful!

But paying a consultant to consult for you doesn't become a bad thing to do, even if you are a bad person.

Like, consider the opposite question: Why should expert witnesses, people who have absolutely no connection to a case beyond a level of expertise in some component of it, _not_ be compensated for the time it takes them to prepare their testimony? This isn't an employee of the city; imagine you're a construction foreman and you're asked to appear as a witness to describe your experiences on a typical job site.

Why should you not get paid for preparing and giving your testimony?

[4ntonius8lock]

No one said they shouldn't get paid.

By who is the question.

That's the whole point of the second scenario. And the article you are commenting on.

Why some people think that others want to hear their opinion of things they don't read is beyond me.