Opinion ID: 901423
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence of Qualifications

Text: [¶ 28.] There is substantial evidence, not mentioned in the Court's opinion that establishes Eirinberg's experience and knowledge of Indian culture, Indian family structure, and Indian childrearing practices. The record reflects that Eirinberg's knowledge was developed over approximately fourteen years of work with Indian people in the area of child abuse and the ICWA. He began that work, almost exclusively with Indian tribes, in 1989. From 1989 to 1997, he was employed by the Yankton Sioux Tribe as a prosecutor and defense attorney in abuse and neglect, family, and juvenile cases. In that employment alone, he worked with between one thousand and two thousand Indians on the Reservation. [¶ 29.] Eirinberg then spent the next three years working for the Ponca Tribe as that Tribe's lawyer, representing abused and neglected children. He handled those cases in tribal and state court, intervening on behalf of the Tribe all over the country (sometimes making motions to transfer cases to tribal court). The trial court heard specific evidence that this employment required him to review cases that came into the Tribe and work with various social workers for the Tribe to determine what was in the best interests of the Tribe and their children and represent their children in state courts when necessary. During this same period of time, he was also the Ponca Tribe's ICWA Specialist/Director, and he assisted in the preparation of that Tribe's abuse and neglect code. [¶ 30.] Eirinberg's latest work experience included employment as a special prosecutor for the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe and as a lawyer for the Yankton Sioux Tribe on ICWA matters. He continues to represent Indian clients on the Yankton Sioux Reservation, and he was working for the Winnebago Tribe at the time of trial. [¶ 31.] Eirinberg's work experience on Reservations allowed him to study Indian culture, and he testified that he was actually in over one hundred homes interacting with tribal members. As a result, he testified that he knew about Sioux culture from his work with the Ponca Tribe and the Yankton Sioux Tribe. Most critical to this case, he provided unrefuted testimony that there were no substantial differences in childrearing practices among the relevant tribes, including the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. [¶ 32.] The record also reflects that Eirinberg had specialized training on the ICWA. He testified that he had read well over one hundred law review articles in this area, had attended numerous ICWA training courses, was a member of the National Indian Child Welfare Association, and had recently completed that Association's course on the ICWA. Eirinberg further indicated that he had previously qualified as an expert in Minnehaha and Lincoln Counties, and he had been recognized as both an expert on ICWA and as a qualified expert witness at the dispositional phase of ICWA proceedings. [¶ 33.] Considering this evidence, the trial court found that Eirinberg had substantial education and experience in this specialty and that's regarding [the] Indian Child Welfare Act and also the culture and termination of Indian children and their parental rights. . . . I agree. In fact, in my view, the state's showing is a textbook example of the qualification of an expert witness, and it certainly satisfies the some evidence abuse of discretion standard of review required by K.A.B.E. Id.