Opinion ID: 2334116
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Exclusion of Lonnie Harrison, M.D.

Text: For his fourth point on appeal, McCoy argues that the trial court erred in excluding any mention of Dr. Lonnie Harrison. Specifically, McCoy argues that Harrison participated in consulting with two of the Montgomerys' experts, Drs. Patrick and Murphy. The Montgomerys argue that there was no relevance to Harrison's involvement in this case, and even if his involvement was relevant, the mention of Harrison would have been unfairly prejudicial to the Montgomerys. As the trial court determined that Harrison's testimony was not relevant, it was not necessary to engage in an analysis under Ark. R. Evid. 403 (2005). Accordingly, our review on appeal is limited to the issue of whether the trial court abused its discretion in granting the Montgomerys' motion in limine on the basis that the evidence was not relevant. See Yeakley v. Doss, 370 Ark. 122, 257 S.W.3d 895 (2007). Pursuant to Ark. R. Evid. 401 (2005), relevant evidence means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Arkansas Rule of Evidence 402 (2005) provides that irrelevant evidence is inadmissible. In discussing our standard of review for evidentiary rulings, we have said that trial courts have broad discretion and that a trial court's ruling on the admissibility of evidence will not be reversed absent an abuse of that discretion. Id. (citing Owens v. State, 363 Ark. 413, 214 S.W.3d 849 (2005)). Here, the Montgomerys employed Harrison as a consultant and legal assistant on their case. The fact that Harrison participated in consulting with two of the Montgomerys' experts has no relevance in this case. Similarly, the fact that Harrison had been convicted of drug possession, causing him to lose his medical license, is also irrelevant. Keeping in mind our standard of review regarding evidentiary rulings, we hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding any mention of Harrison at trial.