Opinion ID: 484310
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Court's Refusal to Exclude Dr. Petersons' Testimony

Text: 50 Heath's counsel was provided with a copy of Dr. Petersons' initial report before Petersons testified. Heath contends, however, that because the defense failed to turn over this report until the time of trial he was deprived of an opportunity to evaluate the report and to effectively question Petersons because [he] had no opportunity to read, digest, and evaluate that report, and then to consult with appropriate experts to formulate questions for Petersons. The record reflects, however, that Dr. Petersons was present and ready to testify at the trial on Friday, November 8, 1985. When Heath's counsel became aware of the existence of Dr. Petersons' initial report, he moved to exclude Petersons' testimony based upon his claim that failure to provide the report violated the magistrate's discovery order in the case. The district court refused to exclude Dr. Petersons' testimony because to have done so would have been too severe a sanction, even if the discovery order had been violated. The district court then continued the trial to the following Tuesday, November 12th, so that Heath's counsel could review Petersons' initial report and consult with his own expert. Heath's medical expert was scheduled to testify at 9:00 a.m. on November 12th. Dr. Petersons' testimony was rescheduled to 1:30 p.m. on November 12th. Heath's argument that he was denied the opportunity to review Dr. Petersons' initial report and consult with his own medical expert in advance of examining Petersons is without merit. That simply did not occur. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to exclude Dr. Petersons' testimony. 51 AFFIRMED.