Opinion ID: 2996038
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Expert Testimony on Patterns Among Domestic

Text: Abuse Victims We review the district court’s implementation of the Daubert framework with respect to the admission of expert testimony de novo. Once we are convinced that the district court properly applied the Daubert framework, however, we review the decision to admit or exclude the expert testimony for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Allen, 269 F.3d 842, 845 (7th Cir. 2001). According to Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evi- dence, “[i]f scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue,” a properly qualified expert may testify as to their opinion on the matter. FED. R. EVID. 702. That testimony must also be based on sufficient facts, be the product of reliable principles and methods, and reflect reliable application of those methods to the facts. Id. It is the job of the district court to ensure that the expert’s opinion is reliable and relevant to the case, and thus, the district court is given broad discretion to do so. Allen, 269 F.3d at 846. Young does not argue that the district court improperly qualified Dr. Burgess as an expert witness. We must determine, therefore, whether the methodology used by Dr. Burgess to arrive at her opinions was reliable and relevant to this case. Young argues that Dr. Burgess’ methodology was not reliable because: a) Dr. Burgess formed her opinion before meeting with Patrick; b) Dr. Burgess reached her conclusion about Patrick based upon “anecdotal” evidence of other battered women; and c) Dr. Burgess did not interview Patrick’s friends and family. The Supreme Court laid out several factors in Daubert that serve as a starting point for determining whether an expert’s opinion is based upon reliable methodology. No. 02-1294 11 Daubert v. Merrel Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 593-94 (1993). The Court later made clear in Kumho Tire, however, that “the factors [Daubert] mentions do not constitute a ‘definitive checklist or test.’ ” Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 150 (1999) (emphasis in original); see also United States v. Conn, 297 F.3d 548, 555-56 (7th Cir. 2002). Thus, the Daubert inquiry must be connected to the particular facts of the case. Kumho Tire, 526 U.S. at 150; Conn, 297 F.3d at 555-56. Among the factors to consider, the expert witness’s experience in a particular field is often quite relevant in determining the reliability of her opinion. See Conn, 297 F.3d at 556. In United States v. Allen, this Court upheld the admission of expert testimony in a drug trafficking case by a police officer with twenty-six years of experience, thirteen of which were with the DEA. Allen, 269 F.3d at 846. The expert in that case based his opinion not only on his extensive experience investigating over 200 drug cases but also on a full examination of the relevant police reports. Id. Beyond considering the reliability of the expert’s opinion, we must also examine its helpfulness to the jury. FED. R. EVID. 702. On this issue, two cases from our sister Circuits are most enlightening and highly relevant. In United States v. Alzanki, the First Circuit upheld the defendant’s conviction for holding and conspiring to hold a household employee in involuntary servitude. United States v. Alzanki, 54 F.3d 994, 1009 (1st Cir. 1995). In so holding, the court also affirmed the admission of expert testimony by the same Dr. Burgess who testified in Young’s case, deeming it helpful to the jury. Id. at 1005-06. As in Young’s case, Dr. Burgess based her testimony in Alzanki on the patterns abuse victims generally exhibit and whether the victim in that case exhibited those patterns. Id. at 1006. The court noted that Dr. Burgess’ 12 No. 02-1294 expertise focused on victims of sexual abuse but that she also researched comparable behavior in victims of nonsexual abuse in “unequal power” relationships (i.e.—battered spouses and children). Id. The First Circuit reviewed the admission of Dr. Burgess’ testimony under an abuse of discretion standard, as we do here, and concluded that her testimony “was ‘reasonably likely’ to assist the jury in understanding and assessing the evidence, in that the matter at issue was highly material, somewhat technical, and beyond the realm of acquired knowledge normally possessed by lay jurors.” Id. Similarly, in Arcoren v. United States, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the admission of expert testimony on “battered woman syndrome.” Arcoren v. United States, 929 F.3d 1235, 1241 (8th Cir. 1991). Like Patrick, the victim in Arcoren recanted her allegations of rape and abuse after describing her ordeal to police, medical professionals, and investigators and testifying to those events before a grand jury. Id. At the trial four months later, the victim stated that she did not remember her statements before the grand jury and that she fabricated those statements she could remember making. Id. The government in Arcoren, as in Alzanki, called an expert psychologist who worked with battered women for ten years and with rape victims for fourteen years. Id. at 1239. In affirming the admission of the expert testimony, the Eighth Circuit noted that a “jury naturally would be puzzled at the complete about-face [the victim] made, and would have great difficulty in determining which version of [the victim’s] testimony it should believe. If there were some explanation for [the victim’s] changed statements, such explanation would aid the jury in deciding which statements were credible.” Id. at 1240. The court then discussed how the expert testimony, strikingly similar to that offered by Dr. Burgess in both Alzanki and Young’s No. 02-1294 13 case, provides the explanation a jury needs in order to properly weigh the victim’s trial testimony. Id. Before this Court, Young initially argued that Dr. Burgess’ methodology was unreliable because she arrived at her conclusion before interviewing Patrick. To support this argument, he points only to testimony from his expert witness that failing to interview Patrick first is not sound. The jury, however, is free to credit whichever witness it sees fit. United States v. Woolfolk, 197 F.3d 900, 904 (7th Cir. 1999) Obviously, the jury did not find Young’s expert persuasive, and it is not within the province of this Court to determine otherwise. Id. Young also argues that Clark v. Takata Co., 192 F.3d 750 (7th Cir. 1999), demonstrates that the district court abused its discretion by admitting Dr. Burgess’ testimony because she arrived at her conclusion before interviewing Patrick. Clark, however, is inapposite, as it dealt with whether or not the proffered expert merely assumed the fact he was being called to prove. Clark, 192 F.3d at 757. In this case, not even Young disputes that he beat Patrick for years. The government did not offer Dr. Burgess as an expert on whether or not Young abused Patrick, but rather, as an expert on how victims such as Patrick typically respond to such abuse. Furthermore, there is no legal authority supporting the proposition that Dr. Burgess must interview Patrick before forming her expert opinion. Young’s final two arguments are as futile as the first. Next, he claims that Dr. Burgess’ methodology was based upon “anecdotal” evidence of other battered women; and finally, he argues that her methodology was unsound because she did not interview Patrick’s friends and family. As for “anecdotal” evidence, Dr. Burgess is a highly qualified psychiatric mental health nurse with over forty years of experience. She specializes in crime victims and has published well over 100 scholarly articles and other 14 No. 02-1294 writings on forensic nursing, rape, and domestic violence. Her work is generally accepted in the mental health profession. Even Young’s own expert agreed with Dr. Burgess that abuse victims often recant their statements to protect their abusers. Dr. Burgess’ background makes it clear that she based her opinion in this case on her extensive nursing experience as well as her academic research on several hundred battered women. See Allen, 269 F.3d at 846 (relying, in part, on experience of police officer to affirm admission of expert testimony). Furthermore, Dr. Burgess reached her opinion after conducting a thorough and full examination of the facts in this case. We noted above the substantial evidence Dr. Burgess reviewed in forming her opinion, including police and medical reports as well as communications between Patrick and Young. See id. (noting expert’s reliance on police reports). And, lest we forget, Dr. Burgess also spent over an hour interviewing Patrick personally. To assert that Dr. Burgess’ opinion was based on “anecdotal” evidence is patently inaccurate. That Dr. Burgess did not also interview Patrick’s friends and family is of no concern; it seems unlikely that they would disprove the abuse Young dealt out to Patrick for over a decade. Finally, given Patrick’s recantation at trial, we find that Dr. Burgess’ expert opinion was helpful to the jury in determining how to credit that testimony. We see no reason to disagree with the First Circuit’s conclusion in Alzanki that Dr. Burgess’ testimony is both reliable and helpful in a case such as this one. The district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the expert testimony of Dr. Burgess. In a last-ditch effort, Young argues that Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence prohibits the introduction of Dr. Burgess’ testimony because the prejudicial effect of asserting that Young battered Patrick outweighs the proNo. 02-1294 15 bative value of her testimony. See FED. R. EVID. 403. There is no real issue disputing that Young beat Patrick during the course of their relationship and over the days at issue here. The evidence of the beatings was overwhelming, and Dr. Burgess’ testimony was highly probative as to why Patrick recanted on the stand in light of her earlier statements.