United States v. Adalberto Cervantes-Pacheco, Jerry Wayne Nelson and William E. Nelson

The employment of a witness for a fee contingent upon victory for the party in whose favor he testifies is a violation of both the Model Rules of Professional Conduct 1 and the Code of Professional Responsibility.2 Yet, because a person interested in the outcome of a case is a competent witness, experts employed on such a contingent-fee basis have been permitted to testify.3 No court, so far as I have been able to find, now excludes contingent-fee testimony. The prosecuting attorney is therefore permitted to adduce evidence in a criminal case despite the fact that it is gained by a breach of…