Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Florida

No. You only need to be qualified to express an opinion by training, experience or education. Some opinions do not require degrees (why the car engine did not start) and others do (how was the brain surgeon negligent).

No, expert witnesses are not always PhDs, MDs, JDs, DDs, etc. They may be experts in many areas which do not originate from something one can cognatate from an educational setting. Expert and expertise comes from knowledge and experience, and proven aptitute in the field. To me that is many permutations, and to a juror, it just means what makes sense.

I can conceive of a situation when a shaman could be called as an expert witness of native american law. I can conceive of a situation in which a Hindu priest could be called as an expert witness of Hindu law. I can imagine a classically trained French or Japanese chef could be called as an expert witness of knife and butchery arts. I can also imagine that a guy in the Bronchs who has been cutting big slabs of beef for 30 years could be called as an expert witness on how to butcher a side of beef. .

It depends upon their expertise, and their expertise does not require letters of degree from universities, schools, or colleges.

It also depends upon the judge accepting the person as an "expert" for testimony.

Hope that helps.