Jennifer Barringer Fox News-A new low?

Evan Thomas said:
That's almost inevitable in a system where opposing parties hire and pay their own experts. No matter how cut-and-dried a set of facts might seem, there's always incentive for some "expert" out there to testify to the opposite. In many cases, it would be more sensible to have both parties stipulate to a single, court-appointed expert, or even to more than one, but that would never fly in the US system, which takes "adversarial" to ridiculous levels.
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Since both sides can shop around to find an "expert" to say what they want to hear in court, what is the point in an expert witness other than to run up the bill?
 
Since both sides can shop around to find an "expert" to say what they want to hear in court, what is the point in an expert witness other than to run up the bill?
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Expert witnesses are like people generally. Some are great, some are awful, many are only marginally useful.

A really good expert can convey a lot of information and experience succinctly and simply. This allows a judge, or sometimes even a juror, neither of whom are necessarily very interested in any aspect of the case, to digest the issue on which the witness offers testimony.

Experts, whether medical doctors, engineers, architects or appraisers, who give their client whatever that client wanted to hear, tend to become known and discounted appropriately. There is a technical term for these experts; restraint and decorum prevent me from divulging it.
 
Real Firearms and Toolmark Examiners have resumes that include special classes and seminar credits plus years of specific job experience. A full accounting of their attainments is required before their testimony can be believed. Barrington has none of this. She thinks five minute looking in a microscope can match bullets like they do on TV. Professionals routinely discredit her but only after she has made outrageous statements.
 
I saw it for the first time last night. Wow. :eek: I think they would have been better off featuring a random lady in a grocery store. If she is ever called as an expert in a trial, I think playing that clip would impeach her credibility to any juror who had even a remote knowledge of firearms.
 
There was an "expert" on CNN last night talking about the Nice truck attack. He claimed that bullets from police handguns would bounce right off of a truck windshield.

This happened AFTER they showed pics of the truck with the windshield riddled with bullet holes from police handguns, and nobody pointed this out to the "expert".
 
The word "forensic" is used to note the use of scientific knowledge or methods in solving a crime.

It is not a general term that can be applied to anyone who purports to be an expert on a subject. Subject matter experts (SME's) can speak as someone who has comprehensive knowledge or expertise in a specific area - but, does not apply that knowledge to solving crimes.

Unfortunately for the person in question - she is neither a forensics expert nor a subject matter expert - as is amply demonstrated by her total lack of knowledge about guns.

I highly doubt she has applied her "scientific knowledge" to solve a crime as she lacks the basic knowledge to actually be able to do that.

To be a forensics expert, she would probably belong to the American Academy of Forensics Sciences. My guess? She doesn't even know the organization exists.

She is merely a talking head hired by a network producer looking to fill time in a news report and hoping to give the illusion of expertise.

She is, very simply, a poseur of the highest order...
 
I watched the video several times since I posted this thread (and I'd like to take credit for finding it but someone else on another forum found it before me) it finally occurred to me that this is the middle of the night and maybe Jennifer Barringer was somehow impaired. In which case I feel like a jerk for making fun of her.

Fox still should have NOT have had her on TV or should have taken her off or those two anchors should have cut her off. Fox IMhO is NOT off the hook for the broadcast they put out there.
 
it finally occurred to me that this is the middle of the night
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Yes, that was my first thought when I saw the video. As someone who occasionally works a night shift and watches late night TV news the quality drops significantly.

They probably had a difficult time finding someone and since this was a breaking story they felt continuous coverage was needed, so they were obviously trying to fill time. However, someone got their signals crossed big time. Note sure if Barringer agreed to be a “general” expert and they began to ask specific questions, so she adlibbed or if she somehow misrepresented her credentials ahead of time. Either way this incident does not reflect well on anyone involved.
 
DaleA said:
maybe Jennifer Barringer was somehow impaired. In which case I feel like a jerk for making fun of her.
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If she were *permanently* impaired due to some sort of accident or illness that effected her mental faculties, this might be a valid concern. Except, she (and they) would still be responsible for realizing that she was no longer an expert.

If it is *self inflicted* impairment, either through sleep deprivation or intoxication, I would not feel bad for her. In fact, I would find her (and their) conduct even more deplorable, for failing to realize the impairment and not refusing to go on (or put her on) the air.

As it is, she and they simply appear to be so unbelievably ignorant and apathetic that NO ONE in ear shot was educated (or brave) enough to pull the plug on that segment.
 
The level of ignorance is truly startling. Let me try to help. She probably meant to say that a scope suitable for varmint hunting would not be the best choice for a battle rifle intended for the urban setting. We can all probably agree about that. As for the grocery store, that would be to purchase a pumpkin or something else good for more oohs and aahs when shot than a paper target. This is based on the definition of an "assault rifle" as one that causes the most oohs and aahs.
At the end of the day, I think Fox is at its best reporting on yesterday's weather.
 
After watching this clip, my only hope is that her comments were so absurd that the average person watching would realize that what she was saying didn't make sense. I would think that the average person has a basic understanding of what a scope is, and I'd hope that they'd realize that adding it to a rifle doesn't change its firing characteristics. Also, the average person has been to many different grocery stores in their lives, and I'd think they'd notice if there were gun parts available for sale there.

Basically, I'd like to think that those two comments were outlandish enough to make the average person skeptical of what she was saying.
 
The term "expert" used to mean and or refer to someone who was unusually knowledgeable about some particular field or subject. Seems these days, the term is applied to just about anyone with a microphone, and a TV camera. Of course, there are also "eggspurts", sometimes taken incorrectly to be knowledgeable people, the equals of "experts", which is very far from the case.
 
If it is *self inflicted* impairment, either through sleep deprivation or intoxication, I would not feel bad for her. In fact, I would find her (and their) conduct even more deplorable, for failing to realize the impairment and not refusing to go on (or put her on) the air.
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Medical professionals and many other professions may also often be sleep deprived but inadequate performance is still not tolerated. Whatever she was, it is no excuse. I hope she never gets the opportunity again.
 
I think every one here should take a deep breath and calm down for one simple reason.
Do you really think they care about accuracy in any statement they make?
The vast majority of people that watch this drivel think that we never landed on the moon and Kennedy was killed by the CIA.
 
I believe I heard her say that some guns shoot faster because the cases don't eject between shots . That was my favorite part .
 
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