From Witness Box to the Hot Tub: How the “Hot Tub” Approach to Expert Witnesses Might Relax an American Finder of Fact

The concurrent evidence procedure, informally known as “hot tubbing,” is a method of eliciting expert witness testimony that efficiently aims to educate the finder of fact so a just conclusion of the case is obtained. With experts from both sides of the litigation testifying at the same time, opportunities abound for such result. The basic practice starts with each expert’s opening statement of findings, judges then elicit answers from the expert’s directly, the experts have an opportunity to question each other and challenge the other’s findings, and finally, the attorneys from either side have an opportunity to clarify and cross-examine all the experts. This paper explores the possibility of the procedures usefulness under the scope and structure of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence in federal courtrooms across America.