Opinion ID: 1185665
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Rejection of Offered Expert Testimony

Text: Appellants offered Rudy Voigt, the owner of a Fairbanks towing and alignment service, as an expert witness. Mr. Boigt had been in the business in Fairbanks for the last twenty years and had assisted the police at 100-125 accidents per year, of which twenty to twenty-five were serious. He regularly observed these accident scenes to determine for himself how they occurred and also because he was often called as a witness. He had previously qualified as an expert witness four or five times. In the course of his business he aligned tractor-trailer combinations similar to the Sea-Land vehicle. He often drove such trucks and was familiar with both their driving and tracking characteristics because he had to check these factors to insure proper alignment. The court refused to permit Mr. Voigt to express an opinion as to the speed of the truck based on a photograph depicting trailer tire tracks across the hood of the Ferrell automobile. The court also refused to permit appellants to ask Mr. Voigt a question regarding the tracking tendencies of the trailer. Finally the court refused to permit appellants to pose another hypothetical question designed to elicit from Mr. Voigt his opinion regarding the location of the trailer with reference to the center of the road at the time of impact. The bases for these rulings were the lack of Mr. Voigt's qualifications and the belief that such answers would determine the ultimate issue, location of the vehicles at the time of impact, and thereby invade the exclusive province of the jury. As stated in State v. Phillips, 470 P.2d 266, 270-271 (Alaska 1970), a witness need not devote full time to his area of knowledge in order to qualify as an expert. It is sufficient `that he has the requisite intelligence and reasonable contact with the subject matter to allow him to demonstrate his expertise with reasonable skill.' [Quoting Lewis v. State, 469 P.2d 689, 693-694 (Alaska 1970) (footnote omitted)]. The trial court must determine as well whether the trier of fact will be able to receive appreciable assistance from the expert witness. Equally important is the wide discretion we have permitted trial judges in determining whether to qualify witnesses as expert. The rule, dating from Pedersen v. State, 420 P.2d 327, 335 (Alaska 1966), and followed in subsequent cases [29] is that such discretion will be disturbed only if the objecting party demonstrates an abuse thereof by the trial court. [30] In the case of Lewis v. State, 469 P.2d 689, 693-697 (Alaska 1970), this court set forth basic guidelines on qualifications of expert witnesses. We also discussed in detail just what would constitute a reversible abuse of discretion. The test applied in that case was whether the reasons for the exercise of discretion are clearly untenable or unreasonable. 469 P.2d at 695. We went on to note that the reasonableness of the discretion exercised below will depend upon whether the trial judge has fairly balanced such factors as the value of the evidence against the danger of undue prejudice, distraction of the jury from the issues, and waste of time. Id. at 696. Although we held that the trial court in that case had abused its discretion in refusing to qualify the witness, we affirmed the wide latitude we have traditionally given the judges in this sphere. [31] Applying the rule to the facts of this case, we emphasize at the outset the three different questions that appellants offered to ask Mr. Voigt. The first concerned the issue of the truck's speed. Appellees objected as to lack of qualification and that this was the ultimate issue in the case. We can find no showing in the record to indicate that Mr. Voigt had reasonable contact with the subject matter under discussion. Mere observation of numerous accident scenes after the fact would not necessarily make him an expert in this field. Nor would extensive driving experience give him the knowledge to tell from a photograph the speed of the vehicles involved. Thus we find no error in the court's ruling here. We find no prejudice resulting from appellants' next contention of error  that Mr. Voigt was not permitted to answer a hypothetical question concerning the trailer's tracking tendencies. Appellants were permitted to call a rebuttal witness, Edward Montgomery, and question him on just this point. They cannot now claim that prejudice resulted from the fact that they were unable to question an additional expert witness on this issue. It is quite clear in this state that before trial the court may limit the number of expert witnesses. Bertram v. Harris, 423 P.2d 909, 916 (Alaska 1967); Fairbanks Publishing Co. v. Francisco, 390 P.2d 784, 799 (Alaska 1964); Civ.R. 16(a) (4). Alaska is not unique in this respect. As Professor Wigmore says: This result may be said to be universally accepted; the trial court in its discretion may limit the number of expert witnesses. 6 J. Wigmore, A Treatise on the Anglo-American System of Evidence in Trials at Common Law § 1908 at 580 (3d ed. 1940). Such a rule is logical for several reasons. Additional witnesses may just tend to confuse the issues and the jury. Too much time may be taken up by such superfluities. The patience of both judges and juries may be worn thin, tiring them and thereby possibly biasing them. Poor litigants may be prejudiced unless such a rule is imposed; the typical cautionary instruction [32] cannot always suffice when a poor man's single witness is matched against an opposing forensic parade. See generally 6 J. Wigmore, A Treatise on the Anglo-American System of Evidence in Trials at Common Law § 1908 at 578-80 (3d ed. 1940). Since the trial court can exercise such discretion before trial, appellants generally should not complain after trial, on appeal, that the court has prejudiced them by excluding one witness if they have been permitted to examine another on the same subject. Similarly, we find no merit in appellants' third contention of error that Mr. Voigt should have been permitted to answer a question expressing an opinion as to the location of the rear of the trailer relative to the center of the road at the time of impact. Although the basis for the question was to be Voigt's observation of the truck, tracks and point of impact at the scene, it called for more than his observations. It also asked Voigt's opinion. To give his opinion, Voight had to qualify as an expert able to determine the position of the vehicles at the time of the collision based on a view of the scene after the accident. We are not persuaded that the trial court abused its discretion in finding that Mr. Voigt did not possess sufficient knowledge to assist the jury in determining this issue. Although appellees also rely on the argument that the witness should not have been permitted to testify regarding an ultimate issue in the case, we must expressly reject such a position. We held in Oxenberg v. State, 362 P.2d 893, 900 (Alaska), cert. denied, 368 U.S. 56, 82 S.Ct. 189, 7 L.Ed.2d 128 (1961), that if the jury could receive appreciable help or assistance from the opinion of the expert witness, then his testimony was admissible. It would not be a ground for objection in the latter instance that the opinion embraced the ultimate issue to be decided, i.e., the cause of the fire. The jury decides this issue  not the expert witness  and all that is done is to permit the jury to receive some assistance where it is needed and from a person who, because of his training, experience and observations, is able to render that assistance. (footnotes omitted.) We thus affirm the trial court in the above rulings.