Opinion ID: 397401
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Buckhout Testimony

Text: 84 At trial the government offered the testimony of two experienced airplane pilots who identified Thevis and Hood as men they had seen at Underhill's property around the time Underhill and Galanti were murdered. The defense attempted to counter this evidence through the testimony of Dr. Robert Buckhout, an expert on the subject of eyewitness identification. Specifically, Buckhout offered to testify that the ability of airplane pilots to make eyewitness identifications is not greater than that of other persons. The trial court excluded the proffered testimony, concluding that the subjects of perception, memory, and identification were within the expertise of the jury and therefore the probative value of the evidence was substantially outweighed by the possibility of prejudice emanating from this expert testimony. Appellants claim this ruling was error. 85 Rule 702, Fed.R.Evid., permits expert testimony when the trial court determines that scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue.... As with all evidentiary rulings, the admission of such testimony is addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court. United States v. Lopez, 543 F.2d 1156 (5th Cir. 1976). We find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's ruling. Buckhout did not comment specifically on the identification made by the two government witnesses, but instead testified generally as to problems with eyewitness identification and that pilots as a group were not better equipped than ordinary witnesses to make identifications. To admit such testimony in effect would permit the proponent's witness to comment on the weight and credibility of opponents' witnesses and open the door to a barrage of marginally relevant psychological evidence. Moreover, we conclude, as did the trial judge, that the problems of perception and memory can be adequately addressed in cross-examination and that the jury can adequately weigh these problems through common-sense evaluation. Our conclusion is supported by other circuits' uniform approval of excluding testimony exactly like Buckhout's. United States v. Fosher, 590 F.2d 381, 382-84 (1st Cir. 1979) (Buckhout's specific testimony excluded); United States v. Watson, 587 F.2d 365, 368-69 (7th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 1132, 99 S.Ct. 1055, 59 L.Ed.2d 95 (1979); United States v. Brown, 540 F.2d 1048, 1053-54 (10th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1100, 97 S.Ct. 1122, 51 L.Ed.2d 549 (1977); United States v. Brown, 501 F.2d 146 (9th Cir. 1974), rev'd on other grounds sub nom. United States v. Nobles, 422 U.S. 225, 95 S.Ct. 2160, 45 L.Ed.2d 141 (1975) (Buckhout's specific testimony excluded); United States v. Amaral, 488 F.2d 1148, 1152-53 (9th Cir. 1973); United States v. Collins, 395 F.Supp. 629 (M.D.Pa.), aff'd, 523 F.2d 1051 (3rd Cir. 1975) (Buckhout's specific testimony excluded). See also, United States v. Webb, 625 F.2d 709, 710-11 (5th Cir. 1980) (trial court did not err in excluding expert testimony that defendant lacked propensity to commit a violent act); United States v. Sims, 617 F.2d 1371, 1374-75 (9th Cir. 1980) (trial court did not err in failing to appoint psychologist to assist defense through testimony on the unreliability of eyewitness identification).