Opinion ID: 2586091
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to swear in and qualify the witness as an expert

Text: Dr. Jan Kiele was the sole witness to testify at the hearing on the two petitions. At the beginning of the hearing, Master Duggan stated that Dr. Kiele has previously been sworn, so just a reminder that he is still under oath. And also, he's been qualified as an expert in the field of psychiatry. Although Wetherhorn did not object to this method of reminding Dr. Kiele that he remained under oath at the hearing, Wetherhorn now argues that the failure to require Dr. Kiele to give an oath before each case and to qualify him as an expert in her particular case constituted plain error. Alaska Evidence Rule 603 requires every witness to declare that he or she will testify truthfully. The intent of the rule is expressed in its requirement that a witness be sworn in a manner calculated to awaken the witness' conscience and impress the witness' mind with the duty to [testify truthfully]. [70] This purpose was satisfied by the master's reminder to Dr. Kiele that he had been previously sworn and remained under oath. Furthermore, Wetherhorn makes no argument or showing that injustice resulted from the failure to swear in Dr. Kiele. Because the intent of the rule was satisfied and because no injustice was shown to have resulted, we conclude that the failure to swear in Dr. Kiele in this case does not constitute plain error. Alaska Evidence Rule 702(a) requires that a witness be qualified as an expert before proceeding to provide expert opinion testimony. [71] Wetherhorn argues that the failure to qualify Dr. Kiele during her hearing constitutes error because no record was produced from which the trial or appellate courts could determine that his qualifications were proper. But Wetherhorn does not argue that a psychiatrist working for API would not be qualified as an expert in psychiatry or that a psychiatrist already qualified as an expert in another case would fail to be similarly qualified in her case. Dr. Kiele also made no attempt to hide his limited knowledge of Wetherhorn's case. Because it is unclear what injustice resulted from the failure to qualify the API psychiatrist, we conclude that it did not constitute plain error.