Opinion ID: 1423334
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: limiting the testimony of zimmerman's expert witness.

Text: Zimmerman argues that the trial court limited the testimony of Zimmerman's expert witness, Stirling Campbell. Zimmerman tried to elicit testimony from Campbell that it was more likely that the victim was not abused than that she was abused. Whether a witness is sufficiently qualified to render an expert opinion is within the discretion of the trial court. Sidwell v. William Prym, Inc. 112 Idaho 76, 730 P.2d 996 (1986). Campbell worked for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and is a licensed social worker. Campbell performed a home-study of both of the victim's parents concerning a previous child protective action concerning the victim. Campbell had contact with the victim and the parents only during the period of February to July of 1988. The trial court's concerns about Campbell's testimony were two-fold. First, Campbell had no contact with the victim or her parents during the time period in question  November 15-27, 1988. He based his testimony on a totally different time period  February to July 1988. This raised a question regarding the relevancy of the testimony. Second, despite Zimmerman's argument, it is evident that the trial court limited the testimony because Zimmerman laid an insufficient foundation regarding Campbell's qualifications in child sexual abuse matters. There was no evidence in the record that Campbell had training or experience in the investigation of child sexual abuse allegations. Nor was it clear whether Campbell's job with the Department of Health and Welfare required him to investigate child sexual abuse cases. Based upon these insufficiencies in the record, the trial court properly excluded the testimony.