Opinion ID: 1699278
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: The trial court erred when it qualified a State witness with limited experience as an expert in blood spatter analysis.

Text: Defendant claims the trial court erred when it qualified Shreveport Police Department Lieutenant Mark Rogers as an expert in crime scene analysis with a sub-specialty in blood spatter analysis. Accordingly, he contends the witness should not have been permitted to testify that the blood spatter pattern on defendant's jeans suggested the person wearing them may have straddled the victim and in any event was within three feet of her when she was repeatedly struck. Experts may qualify by virtue of knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education.... LA.CODE. EVID. ANN. art. 702. A trial judge is vested with broad discretion in determining whether a witness is an expert, and in the absence or abuse of discretion, a reviewing court will not disturb the district court's decision. Bourque, 622 So.2d at 237; State v. Trahan, 576 So.2d 1, 8 (La.1990). In this case, Lieutenant Rogers testified he was the commander of the crime scene investigations unit of the Shreveport Police Department. He had previously been accepted 41 times as an expert in crime scene analysis and reconstruction. While the officer had not published any material on blood spatter analysis, he testified he had conducted three seminars in the field. In addition, he had attended FBI seminars which included presentations on blood spatter analysis. Finally, the officer stated he had taken at least two 40-hour seminars devoted solely to blood spatter analysis. Given the expert's training and experience, defendant fails to show the trial court abused its discretion when it qualified Lieutenant Rogers as an expert in the field. See e.g., State v. Young, 95-0402 (La.App. 3 Cir. 10/4/95), 663 So.2d 301, 303 (witness accepted as crime scene investigation and blood spatter expert based on four years experience, various classes and seminars and qualification as expert in other parishes); State v. Howard, 626 So.2d 459, 464 (La.App. 3 Cir.1993) (witness accepted as blood spatter expert; ten or more years of work in area, attended several courses, and lectured in the field). Moreover, the trial court instructed the jury that it alone shall determine the weight and credibility [Rogers's] testimony deserves. (R., vol.XIV, p. 3437). In addition, the witness was subject to cross-examination by the defense concerning both his qualifications and the conclusions drawn from his analysis of the blood spatter patterns. In these circumstances, defendant fails to show the likelihood of prejudice resulting from the trial court's ruling qualifying the witness as an expert. This argument lacks merit.