Unable to Find One Expert Witness Out of 12,000 Says Something

Plaintiffs attorneys searching for an expert witness are running out of time as Hartford Connecticut District Superior Court Judge Thomas G. Moukawsher noted that their are some 12,000 infectious disease specialists in the United States who would qualify, but that the attorneys have yet to find one who would support their anti-mask case.

Two of the attorneys, both Republican state representatives, are searching for medical experts to support their claim that masks are dangerous for school children. The attorneys represent a group of parents in five Connecticut towns who are seeking an emergency injunction from the court to cease a requirement that students wear masks in schools.

While the attorneys did find two out-of-state doctors willing to testify, Judge Moukawsher excluded them as unqualified, noting that one of them espoused opinions that defied “science so firmly established as to be beyond rational dispute.” The doctor suggested that viruses do not exist and vaccines are poisonous.

One of the attorneys complained that they were having a difficult time finding a qualified expert due to politics, stating that the medical field had a “sort of mob mentality now and a lot of doctors who would normally, certainly agree to testify are being scared off.”

Judge Moukawsher had a different take: “I, of course, don't have any evidence one way or the other as to whether that's why people aren't testifying or whether they won't testify because they don't agree with you. I don't want to decide that issue.” He noted in his ruling that, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America, they have 12,000 members, any of whom might be qualified to opine on whether masks reduce the spread of disease, yet the plaintiffs had not chosen to call any one of them.

The plaintiff's attorneys asked Judge Moukawsher to allow for the next hearing to be held in the afternoon to accommodate a potential expert witness on the West Coast. It seems they were unable to find anyone closer than the other side of the United States.

Judge Moukawsher granted the request, but warned that he was not inclined to grant any more extensions. As it was an emergency motion by the plaintiffs against the State of Connecticut, Judge Moukawsher ruled that: “I think the fair thing for me to do with respect to proving an emergency is give you one more chance with respect to the experts” before granting the state's motion to dismiss.

Politics certainly seem to be at play in this case, but who is playing, and who is unwilling to play, seems to be the question.