Opinion ID: 3002142
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Dr. Wixman’s Testimony

Text: With respect to Dr. Wixman’s testimony, Mr. Kholyavskiy takes issue with the IJ’s failure to recognize Dr. Wixman as an expert. According to Mr. Kholyavskiy, Dr. Wixman “has the knowledge, skill[,] experience, training and education to be qualified as an expert witness who could assist the IJ in determining what would happen to Mr. Kholyavskiy as a Jew, a Jewish refugee to the U.S., and a mentally ill person, if he were returned to Russia.” Appellant’s Br. at 22. Although Mr. Kholyavskiy frames his argument in terms of admissibility of expert testimony under the Federal Rules of Evidence,1 1 the Federal Rules of Evidence do not apply in immigration hearings. Instead, the IJ evaluates evidence to determine whether it is “probative and its admission fundamentally fair.” See Doumbia v. Gonzales, 472 F.3d 957, 962 (7th Cir. 2007). The pivotal question in evaluating an IJ’s evidentiary ruling is whether the ruling frustrated the alien’s reasonable opportunity to 11 Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 702 provides: If 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, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case. No. 07-1020 17 present evidence on his own behalf. In this case, the IJ’s failure to recognize Dr. Wixman as an expert did not impinge Mr. Kholyavskiy’s right to a fair hearing. With respect to Dr. Wixman’s expertise concerning the treatment of the mentally ill in the former Soviet Union, Dr. Wixman stated in his affidavit that he was not an expert on mental disorders, but that he was “familiar with” Russian views and policies with respect to the mentally ill. Dr. Wixman, however, never has conducted any academic studies or research concerning the mentally ill in Russia. The only evidence he sought to offer with respect to this subject was anecdotal evidence acquired second- and third-hand. See A.R. at 607-09. Such evidence was of limited reliability and, consequently, had minimal probative value. Turning to Dr. Wixman’s expertise on the treatment of Russian Jews and Jewish refugees returning to Russia, Dr. Wixman stated in his affidavit: “I do not directly write on the Jews of Russia and the other republics . . . because I am Jewish with ancestors (grandparents) from Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova, and Russia.” A.R. at 1288. He did state, however, that he “keep[s] close watch on Jewish issues” in the post-Soviet republics. Id.1 2 It would 12 Although the Board noted that the IJ should not have assessed the possible bias of any witness prior to hearing his testimony, the Board “agree[d] with the Immigration Judge’s conclusion that Dr. Wixman is not an expert witness on the treatment of the mentally ill in Russia or the treatment of returning Russians (continued...) 18 No. 07-1020 appear, therefore, that Dr. Wixman himself acknowledged that, from an academic standpoint, he was not an expert in the treatment of Russian Jews, but simply an individual who was interested in the subject matter. Furthermore, although the IJ did not recognize Dr. Wixman as an expert in the treatment of Russian Jews, he did allow Dr. Wixman to testify extensively. Dr. Wixman’s testimony was curtailed only on two occasions. The first of these was when Dr. Wixman was testifying as to antiSemitic events in Irkutsk. The IJ, at that point, interjected and asked counsel to explain why events in Irkutsk, nearly 1500 miles from where Mr. Kholyavskiy had resided, were relevant. Counsel, however, did not follow up with any questions that established the relevance of any anti-Semitic events in Irkutsk to Mr. Kholyavskiy. On the second occasion, the IJ sustained the Government’s objection to Dr. Wixman’s testimony concerning experimentation conducted on individuals confined to institutions for the mentally ill. According to Dr. Wixman, these statements were not based on any studies of those institutions, any personal interviews with inmates or his visits to such facilities, but instead on information provided to him by unidentified relatives of those housed in the facilities. See A.R. at 608-10. Such evidence was of limited probative value and trustworthiness, and the IJ was not required to 12 (...continued) from the United States given his limited expertise in these subjects, in addition to the generalized and unsupported assessments contained in his written statement.” A.R. at 325. No. 07-1020 19 consider it. Cf. Alexandrov v. Gonzales, 442 F.3d 395, 405 (6th Cir. 2006) (noting that the consideration of “[h]ighly unreliable hearsay” might raise due process concerns (internal quotation marks and citations omitted)).