Opinion ID: 899956
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Bodman's Testimony

Text: [¶ 38.] Opinions of experts are admissible under SDCL 19-15-2, [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 witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise. [¶ 39.] In Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 592-93, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 2796, 125 L.Ed.2d 469, 482-83 (1993), the United States Supreme Court held that before expert scientific testimony may be received, it must be shown that: (1) it has been tested; (2) it has been subjected to peer review and publication; (3) the known or potential rate of error must be known; and (4) to what extent it has received general acceptance. The Daubert Court explained: The adjective scientific implies a grounding in the methods and procedures of science. Similarly, the word knowledge connotes more than subjective belief or unsupported speculation. The term applies to any body of known facts or to any body of ideas inferred from such facts or accepted as truths on good grounds. Webster's Third New International Dictionary 1252 (1986). Of course, it would be unreasonable to conclude that the subject of scientific testimony must be known to a certainty; arguably, there are no certainties in science. 509 U.S. at 590, 113 S.Ct. at 2795, 125 L.Ed.2d at 481. [¶ 40.] We accepted the Daubert test for expert scientific testimony in State v. Hofer, 512 N.W.2d 482, 484 (S.D.1994). See also State v. Schweitzer, 533 N.W.2d 156, 159 (S.D.1995). Although general acceptance in the scientific community is no longer required, Daubert, 509 U.S. at 589, 113 S.Ct. at 2794, 125 L.Ed.2d at 480, the trial judge still has the `task of ensuring that an expert's testimony both rests on a reliable foundation and is relevant to the task at hand. Pertinent evidence based on scientifically valid principles will satisfy those demands.' Hofer, 512 N.W.2d at 484 (quoting Daubert, 509 U.S. at 597, 113 S.Ct. at 2799, 125 L.Ed.2d at 485). [¶ 41.] Bodman's credentials are: (1) he has worked in the field of stray voltage since 1975; (2) he has written professional papers on the subject of ground current or neutral return current which have been presented at several conferences; (3) he has investigated the phenomenon of stray voltage on approximately 800 dairy farms; and (4) he has been qualified as an expert on either the subject of stray voltage or ground current in the courts of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas. The trial court stated that Bodman qualified as an expert. Even under Daubert and our recent decisions following it, when the trial court is ruling on the admissibility of an expert opinion, the trial court needs to exercise its gatekeeping function. Expert opinions still need a reliable foundation. In this case, the trial court never ruled whether or not the subject of this expert's opinion rested on a reliable foundation. In order to have a meaningful appellate review, we always state that the trial court must rule or have the opportunity to rule on alleged errors. This foundational determination was not made. Therefore, on remand we instruct the trial court to complete this task in accordance with this opinion.