Opinion ID: 2313338
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Expert Qualifications Established

Text: Hudson's second claim is that the trial judge abused his discretion in ruling that Detective Skinner was qualified to testify as an expert regarding Hudson's intent to deliver the crack cocaine as opposed to possession for personal use. Hudson contends Detective Skinner was not qualified to testify as an expert because he had received little or no training outside that provided in-house by the Delaware State police and local agencies. The States submits that Hudson's argument is without merit because the record reflects that Detective Skinner had the necessary training and experience to qualify as an expert. During a voir dire conducted outside the presence of the jury, Detective Skinner testified about his extensive training and experience in handling drug cases. The record reflects he has been a police officer since 1998, and in July 2001, he became a member of the Delaware State Police. In June or July of 2003, he became a member of the Governor's Task Force, where he remained for three and a half years. The majority of the cases Detective Skinner handled for the Governor's Task Force were drug-related. In January 2007, Detective Skinner became a detective with the Drug Task Force. In his current assignment, he has purchased crack cocaine from drug dealers approximately fifty times. He also has interviewed cooperating individuals for information on drug sales, the price of drugs in Sussex County, the location of open air drug markets, and the identity of the sellers. The record further reflects that Detective Skinner's specialized training included classes in drug identification and field tests at the Delaware State Police Academy, a week-long Wicomico County Narcotics Criminal Patrol seminar in 1999, the Delaware State Police's Handling Confidential Informants course, and an advanced drug identification course, also offered by the Delaware State Police. He also has attended the week-long MAGLOLEN Narcotics Investigators Conference, where officers share information about the drug trade in their respective jurisdictions. Detective Skinner attended the two-week DEA Basic Narcotic Investigators School, which dealt with undercover operations and street-level and larger-scale drug dealing, and specifically included training in how to distinguish drugs that are intended for sale rather than personal use. He also attended Investigator's Fact School, a week-long course addressing in detail how drugs are packaged and sold in our region. He attended concealment devices school offered by the Delaware State Police, which addresses how drugs get into the community, including smuggling methods and concealment devices. He has also attended the DEA methamphetamine conference, which focused on those sales, but also addressed the sale of other drugs. Detective Skinner also took the Wicomico County Drug Smugglers Course, a two or three day course which addressed drug smuggling into the community through how the drugs make it to street dealers. Finally, the record reflects that Detective Skinner has conducted several hundred drug investigations over the course of his career. He has worked undercover purchasing drugs from dealers on approximately fifty occasions, the majority of which were purchases of crack cocaine. Although he has purchased trafficking-weight cocaine (ten or more grams), more frequently he has purchased about .4 grams of crack cocaine. Accordingly, we conclude that the record supports the trial judge's determination that Detective Skinner was qualified to testify as an expert witness. [7]