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<P><FONT FACE="Arial">TO: All Faculty, Administrators and Professional Staff</FONT>
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<P><FONT FACE="Arial">FROM: Joyce A. Scott, Provost</FONT>
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<P><FONT FACE="Arial">RE: Report on Faculty/Staff Consulting and Expert Witness Testimony in Civil Lawsuits Involving the State of Texas</FONT></P>
<P> <FONT FACE="Arial">We have received a call from the Texas Coordinating Board and the A&M System Office to submit the annual required reports on faculty/staff involvement in civil lawsuits involving the State of Texas. <U> Criminal cases are exempt</U> from this requirement. All data will be reported in the aggregate, and no individual faculty/staff will be identified. Reports are due<U><B> to the Provost on September 3,</B></U><B></B> after which they will be compiled and submitted to the A&M System.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Arial">Coordinating Board rules found at 19 Texas Administrative Code §5.12 require that:</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Arial"> "No later than September 30 of each year, the president of an institution of higher education shall file a written report with the Coordinating Board regarding members of the faculty or professional staff who received compensation for serving as consulting or testifying expert witnesses during the prior fiscal year in lawsuits in which the state is a party."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Arial">Please complete and return the form located at:</FONT>
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<P><A HREF="http://sago.tamu.edu/legal/Expert%20witness%20report%20form%202003%202003.doc"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial">http://sago.tamu.edu/legal/Expert%20witness%20report%20form%202003%202003.doc</FONT></U></A>
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<P><FONT FACE="Arial">Please submit to the Provost by September 3, 2004. Thank you for your cooperation in responding to this requirement. Should you have any questions, the Q&A below may be helpful. </FONT></P>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> </FONT><B></B><B></B><B> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Questions and Answers: Annual Report of Expert Witness Activities of Faculty</FONT></B>
<BR><B><FONT SIZE=4 FACE="Arial">1. Why is this information being requested?</FONT></B>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> The Legislature enacted a law in 1999 requiring that this information be collected and reported to the Governor and both houses of the Legislature. The law is </FONT><A HREF="http://sago.tamu.edu/legal/Ethics.htm"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Section 61.0815</FONT></U></A><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">, Texas Education Code.</FONT></P>
<P><B><FONT COLOR="#800000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">2. Who is responsible for making the report?</FONT></B>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> Ultimately, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Attorney General, and the Presidents of the institutions are all responsible for reporting this information. However, the reports are to be based on information that is provided by the employees who are covered by the law.</FONT></P>
<P><B><FONT COLOR="#800000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">3. Which employees are covered by the law?</FONT></B>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> Those persons who meet</FONT><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">ALL</FONT></B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> of the following criteria:</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">(1) full-time, non-classified employee</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">(2) member of the faculty or staff</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">(3) duties include teaching, research, administration or performing professional services, including professional library services</FONT> </P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">(4) received compensation for service as an expert or consulting witness in a lawsuit</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">(5) the State of Texas (including state agencies) was one of the parties in the case, and</FONT></B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">(6) the compensation was for services rendered during the latest fiscal year (September 1, 2003 through August 31, 2004).</FONT> </P>
<P><B><FONT COLOR="#800000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">4. What is the difference between a "fact" witness and an "expert" or "consultant" witness?</FONT></B>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> A</FONT><B> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">fact witness</FONT></B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> is one who testifies from his or her own knowledge of the facts that are the basis of the lawsuit. For example, a witness to an accident who testifies about what he saw is a fact witness. An expert in crash reconstruction who is retained by one of the parties to study the crash and give an opinion is a</FONT><B> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">consulting witness</FONT></B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">. If the expert testifies in a deposition or at trial, he is an</FONT><B> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">expert witness</FONT></B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">. Fact witnesses do NOT file this report.</FONT><B> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Only expert and consultant witness services are covered by the law.</FONT></B></P>
<P><B><FONT COLOR="#800000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">5. What about other lawsuits (where there is no State agency being sued)?</FONT></B>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> </FONT><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">If the State of Texas or a state agency is not a party in the case, the case should NOT be reported.</FONT></B>
<BR><B><FONT COLOR="#800000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">6. What are the deadlines?</FONT></B>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> The law requires the Coordinating Board to file its report with the Governor and the Legislature by </FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">November 1st</FONT><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">. In order to allow time to compile the information into the report, the Coordinating Board has set </FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">September 30th</FONT><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> as the deadline for the institutions to file reports with the board. The A&M System will be filing a consolidated report including all of the data from its members, and in order to meet the CB's deadline, the reports must be filed with the Vice Chancellor by </FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">September 15th</FONT><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> at the latest.</FONT></P>
<P><B><FONT COLOR="#800000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">7. Which office is in charge of filing the information with the Coordinating Board?</FONT></B>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> The Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs will be responsible for the report to the Coordinating Board. CEO's should compile information provided by faculty and affected staff members and forward the information to the Vice Chancellor's office. </FONT></P>
<P><B><FONT COLOR="#800000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">8. Where did the questions on the reporting form come from?</FONT></B>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> All of the questions on the form ask for information that is required by the law.</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT COLOR="#800000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">9. What if an employee who must file the report does not know the requested information or is bound by contract not to reveal it?</FONT></B></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> Although there is no specific provision in the law that deals with this situation, it is our opinion that an employee may respond that he or she does not possess the requested information or is bound by contract not to reveal it.</FONT></P>
<P><B><FONT COLOR="#800000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">10. Will the Coordinating Board's report identify the employees by name?</FONT></B>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> The law requires that the report to be filed by the Coordinating Board must not identify specific individuals.</FONT>
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