Opinion ID: 2623482
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Dr. Aaron Wolf

Text: Dague's expert testimony came from Dr. Aaron S. Wolf, the last witness to testify. A psychiatrist, Wolf evaluated Dague in September of 1997 for between an hour and an hour and a half. He also had reviewed the grand jury testimony and K.T.'s medical records. Wolf testified that child abusers come from all walks of life and that almost anyone has the potential to abuse a child. Medical professionals look for signals demonstrating an increased propensity to abuse. One such factor is stress, be it from one's social isolation, one's medical condition, one's financial condition, etc. In addition there is usually a triggering mechanism[ ] on the part of the child, which sets off the chain of events, such as heavy diarrhea, constant fussing or crying, or in the case of older children, verbal sassing. Wolf then described all the factors in Dague's life that may have led to the crime. He noted that she was new to Alaska and without a support system. He also pointed to the recurring headaches that she had complained about to her doctor, her friends, and most notably to K.T.'s mother on the morning of the crime. Defense counsel also asked Wolf whether it would be difficult for Dague to replicate the event as she was asked to do in the re-enactment video and again in the courtroom. Wolf explained that this would be a very stressful setting to try and replicate something. He added that to replicate such an incident might be impossible: I'm not convinced that she knew exactly how she did it that time. So she may very well have done it to the best of her ability here. Finally, Wolf described Dague's loss of control as a reflexive action, a much more basic reflex of notnot using our thinking brain, not using our cortex and ... as the focus of getting rid of the pain, not having the pain be there, not having the noise be there of reflexively not having that pain right by her ear. In his expert opinion, then, Dague was not aware that she was throwing the child. On cross the State attempted to discredit Dr. Wolf's testimony focusing on (1) his tendency to testify for the defense in criminal cases, (2) the relatively short time he spent interviewing Dague, and (3) the fact that most of your experience in the field of psychiatry is treating those with substance abuse problems or ... sex offenders, rather than child abusers. The State also noted that his conclusions were for the most part based upon what Dague had told him. Finally, the State questioned Wolf's proclaimed use of a certain book in his library that the State suggested he had found only the week before his trial testimony. The State's other main point of emphasis during cross was the fact that Wolf's report indicated that Dague suffered no loss of memory or intellectual functioning. Wolf verified that these continued to be his conclusions.