Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich published an opinion article on cleveland.com, titled, “Tamir Rice case should go to a jury.” He warns again over-reliance on expert opinion in situations that essentially involve judgment, not expertise. In that regard, he argues that the question of the police use of force in the Tamir Rice is primarily a case of judgment–a judgment that should be made by a jury–not a case of special expertise. The op-ed concludes, “pay careful attention to when experts are speaking on matters for which their unique knowledge and training gives them special insight, and when they are simply offering the same sort of opinion that any person on the street might give. Do not defer to someone on matters of common judgment merely because they are given the title ‘expert.'”

The article is available here: http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/10/tamir_rice_case_should_go_to_a.html#incart_river.