Art. 192 Appointment of expert witnesses; expenses

Judges have the power to appoint expert witnesses in a case, and the process for doing this follows the rules set out in Louisiana's Code of Evidence, Article 706. This means the judge doesn't just rely on experts hired by one side or the other. The court can bring in its own expert to help explain technical or complicated issues.

When the court appoints an expert, that expert still needs to be paid for their time and work. The rule says these costs, the expert's fees and any expenses they run up, get added to the overall court costs in the case. In practical terms, this means the cost of a court-appointed expert becomes part of what the losing party (or whoever the court decides should pay costs) may have to cover at the end of the case.