Opinion ID: 1237936
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 41

Heading: Attacks on Defense Expert Witnesses

Text: (85) Defendant has several complaints about the prosecution's treatment of Dr. Martin Blinder, the defense expert who testified about the domestic homicide syndrome. We reject defendant's claim that the prosecutor committed misconduct by questioning Dr. Blinder about the fee he was receiving for his testimony. The compensation and expenses paid or to be paid to an expert witness by the party calling him [or her] is a proper subject of inquiry by any adverse party as relevant to the credibility of the witness and the weight of his [or her] testimony. (Evid. Code, § 722, subd. (b); see People v. Rich (1988) 45 Cal.3d 1036, 1100-1101 [248 Cal. Rptr. 510, 755 P.2d 960].) We also reject the contention that the prosecutor committed misconduct when he asked Dr. Blinder whether he was retained by and testified for the defense in the Dan White case, and again when he commented on the expert's connection with the Dan White case in argument to the jury. Because the defense did not object or request an admonition in either instance, the point is not preserved for appeal. Moreover, an expert's testimony in prior cases involving similar issues is a legitimate subject of cross-examination. Here, the witness testified that he had discussed the Dan White case in his book on the domestic homicide syndrome. Defendant raises similar issues regarding the testimony of Robert Shomer, a defense expert on eyewitness identifications. Defendant contends the prosecutor committed misconduct by asking about the fee the defense was paying Shomer for his testimony, and by asking about Shomer's testimony in other cases. The defense did not object or request an admonition when most of these questions were posed, and to this extent our review is procedurally barred. Those claims not procedurally barred we reject on the merits: it is not misconduct to question an opponent's expert witness about payment for services or about the expert's testimony in prior cases involving similar issues.