USA Fillable Model Expert Declaration Outline
With drafting notes explaining the reasoning, authority, and evidentiary support expected in each section
This is a fillable model outline for an expert declaration in U.S. federal court, tailored to a plaintiff establishing a specific ancestry, descent, tribal status, or community affiliation issue. It is accompanied by drafting notes that explain, section by section, the reasoning behind each element, the authority on which the requirement rests, and the evidentiary support a court will expect to see. The model and its notes are intended to be used together: the outline supplies the structure, the notes supply the rationale that allows the drafter to fill in the structure correctly for the particular case.
Sections of the model declaration
- Identification and qualification — the expert's identity, professional qualifications, prior experience, and specific qualification to opine on the issue presented; with notes on what the federal courts have treated as sufficient and what has been treated as deficient.
- Engagement and scope — the question the expert was asked, the materials the expert was provided, and the boundaries of the opinion offered; with notes on the importance of distinguishing the question presented from related questions on which the expert has not opined.
- Methodology — the methodology adopted, the literature situating the methodology, and the explanation of why the methodology is reliable for the specific question; with notes on the recurring failure modes at this stage.
- Application of the methodology — the step-by-step application of the methodology to the facts of the case; with notes on the level of documentation a court will expect.
- Findings — the substantive findings, expressed at the level of confidence the methodology supports; with notes on the difference between findings and conclusions and on the calibration of certainty.
- Conclusion and fit — the opinion offered to the court, with explicit linkage between the finding and the issue actually in dispute; with notes on the fit element of FRE 702 and on the failure modes that arise when fit is treated as automatic.
- Disclosures — materials considered, prior testimony, compensation, and any other disclosures required by Rule 26; with notes on the form and completeness federal courts expect.
How the drafting notes are intended to be used
The drafting notes are intended to be read in two passes: first, by the drafter, before any section is filled in, in order to internalize the reasoning behind each element; second, by the drafter and the retaining attorney together, after the declaration has been drafted, as a checklist against which to test the completed declaration. The notes are not intended to be filed with the declaration; they are intended to make the filed declaration adequate without further revision.