Opinion ID: 1379489
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: narrative testimony of an expert witness

Text: When asked to explain how he conducted the bite-mark comparisons in this case, Dr. Sopher, with the trial court's permission and without objection by the appellant, stepped down from the witness stand, stood in front of the jury and, in explaining the bite-mark evidence, testified in lecture or narrative form, virtually uninterrupted, for the remainder of his direct examination, which covered about twenty-five pages of transcript. The appellant moved for a mistrial, based upon the lengthy argumentative manner in which Dr. Sopher testified. Finding that Dr. Sopher's testimony did not actually constitute legal argument, the trial court denied the appellant's motion for a mistrial. The appellant assigns as error the trial court's denial of his motion for a mistrial. The appellant emphasizes that the expert testimony of Dr. Sopher was critical to the State's case, as it had only fairly weak circumstantial evidence otherwise. Thus, the appellant argues that the alleged error in the form of Dr. Sopher's testimony, precluding objections such as already asked and answered, was so prejudicial as to necessitate a mistrial. Under the particular circumstances of this case, we disagree. Rule 611(a) of the West Virginia Rules of Evidence provides: The court shall exercise reasonable control over the mode and order of interrogating witnesses and presenting evidence so as to (1) make the interrogation and presentation effective for the ascertainment of the truth, (2) avoid needless consumption of time, and (3) protect witnesses from harassment or undue embarrassment. This evidentiary rule is consistent with the common law in this State: A trial court has wide latitude in the conduct of a trial, and particularly in matters pertaining to the examination of witnesses, and its rulings in relation to the examination of witnesses will not be reversed except when there has been a plain abuse of its discretion. Syl. pt. 2, Payne v. Kinder, 147 W.Va. 352, 127 S.E.2d 726 (1962). The discretion of the trial court to control the mode of interrogation of witnesses has been recognized in criminal cases in this State. See syl. pt. 6, State v. Fairchild, ___ W.Va. ___, 298 S.E.2d 110 (1982) (leading questions). In practice, abuse of this discretion is more often found when the trial court has unduly curbed the examination than when the trial court has permitted an undue extension of the examination. State v. Altergott, 57 Haw. 492, 506, 559 P.2d 728, 737 (1977). An example of the trial court's discretion as to the examination of witnesses is the principle that the trial court is vested with sound discretion to permit a witness to testify in narrative form, rather than by question and answer. See, e.g., Foreman v. State, 50 Ala.App. 236, 239, 278 So.2d 238, 241 (1973) (toxicologist testifying for the state); Jones v. State, 477 N.E.2d 353, 358 (Ind.Ct.App.1985) (psychiatrist testifying for the state), transfer denied (Ind. Nov. 19, 1985); Coble v. State, 476 N.E.2d 102, 106 (Ind.1985) (court-appointed psychiatrist; narrative testimony precluded objections and resulted in inadmissible testimony cured by instruction; mistrial motion properly denied); State v. Wall, 452 So.2d 222, 226 (La.Ct.App.1984) (trial court required defense counsel to move to strike each time state's witness testified improperly during narrative, rather than allowing a general objection to form of testimony; no abuse of discretion). Under W.Va.R.Evid. 702, quoted in its entirety in note 4 supra, an expert witness may testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise. Fed.R.Evid. 702 is identically worded. The notes of the advisory committee with respect to this federal evidentiary rule include this statement: [A]n expert on the stand may give a dissertation or exposition of scientific or other principles relevant to the case, ... Professor Cleckley, in referring to this statement, concludes: An expert under Rule 702 is, therefore, permitted to lecture to the jury. F. Cleckley, Handbook on Evidence for West Virginia Lawyers § 7.1(B)1., at 420 (2d ed. 1986). See also S. Saltzburg and K. Redden, Federal Rules of Evidence Manual 631 (4th ed. 1986); G. Joseph and S. Saltzburg, Evidence in America: The Federal Rules in the States ch. 51, at 4 (1987) (ABA Sec. Litigation, Trial Evidence Committee). In the present case the trial court, without objection by the appellant, permitted Dr. Sopher to testify in narrative or lecture form in order to explain to the jury the physical comparisons which led to his opinion that the appellant, to the exclusion of all other individuals, had made the bite marks in the paper towel. The appellant eventually objected to Dr. Sopher's repeating, as to each tooth, the exactness of the match between the bite-mark pattern in the paper towel and the appellant's dentition. The trial court instructed Dr. Sopher not to repeat, in minute detail, each point of identity. In addition, as stated previously, one unexplained inconsistency between the bite mark and the suspect's dentition means the suspect could not have made the bite mark. It was therefore critical to ruling in the appellant that there was an exact match at each point. In this regard we note that several of the bite-mark cases expressly state that the testimony of the forensic dentist(s) contained a detailed and extensive demonstration and explanation of the physical evidence and comparisons to the jury. See, e.g., Bundy v. State, 455 So.2d 330, 336 (Fla.1984), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1109, 106 S.Ct. 1958, 90 L.Ed.2d 366 (1986); State v. Peoples, 227 Kan. 127, 132-33, 605 P.2d 135, 140 (1980); Kennedy v. State, 640 P.2d 971, 975, 976, 978 (Okla.Crim.App. 1982); State v. Stinson, 134 Wis.2d 224, 230, 235, 397 N.W.2d 136, 138, 140 (1986). Accordingly, this Court holds that the trial court here did not abuse its discretion in denying the appellant's motion for a mistrial. The decision to declare a mistrial, discharge the jury and order a new trial in a criminal case [upon the motion of a criminal defendant] is a matter within the sound discretion of the trial court. State v. Williams, ___ W.Va. ___, ___, 305 S.E.2d 251, 260 (1983). See also State v. Craft, 131 W.Va. 195, 204, 47 S.E.2d 681, 687 (1948).