Opinion ID: 654592
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sources of Information

Text: 60 Defendants-appellants next argue that because Schiliro relied upon countless nameless informers and countless tapes not in evidence, his testimony violated Fed.R.Evid. 703 and the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment. The government responds that, although Schiliro relied upon information that was not before the court, this reliance is permitted under the rules of evidence. 61 According to Rule 703, the facts that form the basis for an expert's opinions or inferences need not be admissible in evidence [i]f of a type reasonably relied upon by experts in the particular field. Fed.R.Evid. 703 (emphasis added). Thus, expert witnesses can testify to opinions based on hearsay or other inadmissible evidence if experts in the field reasonably rely on such evidence in forming their opinions. SeeDaly, 842 F.2d at 1387 (holding that organized crime expert can rely on otherwise inadmissible hearsay in forming his opinion); cf.Reardon v. Manson, 806 F.2d 39, 42 (2d Cir.1986) (holding that reliance by experts on information provided by others does not violate Sixth Amendment rights if expert is available for cross examination), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1020, 107 S.Ct. 1903, 95 L.Ed.2d 509 (1987). Therefore, Schiliro was entitled to rely upon hearsay as to such matters as the structure and operating rules of organized crime families and the identification of specific voices heard on tape in forming his opinion, since there is little question that law enforcement agents routinely and reasonably rely upon such hearsay in the course of their duties. An expert who meets the test of Rule 702, as Schiliro does, is assumed to have the skill to properly evaluate the hearsay, giving it probative force appropriate to the circumstances. In re Agent Orange Product Liability Litigation, 611 F.Supp. 1223, 1245 (E.D.N.Y.1985), aff'd, 818 F.2d 187 (2d Cir.1987), cert. denied, 487 U.S. 1234, 108 S.Ct. 2899, 101 L.Ed.2d 932 (1988). The fact that Schiliro relied upon inadmissible evidence is therefore less an issue of admissibility for the court than an issue of credibility for the jury. SeeUnited States v. Young, 745 F.2d 733, 761 (2d Cir.1984) (pointing out that the defendants were free to expose the weaknesses in the prosecution's widespread use of expert testimony through cross examination), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1084, 105 S.Ct. 1842, 85 L.Ed.2d 142 (1985). 62 Gotti and Locascio do not seriously contest the point that hearsay and other inadmissible evidence are often reasonably relied upon by law enforcement agents in the field, and that this reliance is anticipated by Rule 703. Rather, they argue that a district court admitting expert testimony based on inadmissible evidence must make an explicit finding that the underlying sources of information used by the expert are trustworthy. SeeBarrel of Fun, Inc. v. States Farm Fire & Casualty Co., 739 F.2d 1028, 1033 (5th Cir.1984) (holding that an expert's testimony was inadmissible because the factual premises underlying the opinion were inherently suspect). We agree that a district court is not bound to accept expert testimony based on questionable data simply because other experts use such data in the field. The Supreme Court's recent decision of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993), makes this clear. In Daubert the Court abandoned the traditional rule of Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013, 1014 (D.C.Cir.1923), which required general acceptance in the particular field before novel scientific evidence or techniques could be admitted in court. The Court in Daubert asserted that such a rigid standard for admitting expert scientific testimony was inconsistent with the liberal thrust of the federal rules, --- U.S. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2794, holding that district courts have the authority and discretion to determine whether novel scientific evidence is trustworthy. Id. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2796. Although Daubert involved Rule 702 and scientific evidence, the flexibility of the federal rules also applies to Rule 703 and the determination of the trustworthiness of the sources of expert testimony. The district court has broad discretion to decide the admissibility of expert testimony based on inadmissible evidence. 63 We decline, however, to shackle the district court with a mandatory and explicit trustworthiness analysis. The district judge, who has the ideal vantage point to evaluate an expert's testimony during trial, already has the authority under Fed.R.Evid. 403 to conduct an explicit trustworthiness analysis should she deem one necessary. SeeShatkin v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 727 F.2d 202, 208 (2d Cir.1984) (noting that the district court has the discretionary right under Rule 703 to determine whether the expert acted reasonably in making assumptions of fact upon which he would base his testimony). In fact, we assume that the district court consistently and continually performed a trustworthiness analysis sub silentio of all evidence introduced at trial. We will not, however, circumscribe this discretion by burdening the court with the necessity of making an explicit determination for all expert testimony. This is especially true in this case, because the sources relied upon by Schiliro are no different from those previously allowed by this Court. SeeDaly, 842 F.2d at 1387-88. 64