Opinion ID: 1277506
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidentiary Reliability of HGN Testing

Text: {23} If scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training or education may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise. Rule 11-702. This Court has discerned three prerequisites in Rule 11-702 for the admission of expert testimony: (1) experts must be qualified; (2) their testimony must assist the trier of fact; and (3) their testimony must be limited to the area of scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge in which they are qualified. See Alberico, 116 N.M. at 166, 861 P.2d at 202; accord State v. Anderson, 118 N.M. 284, 291-92, 881 P.2d 29, 36-37 (1994) (explaining the second and third prerequisites); State v. Stills, 1998-NMSC-009, ¶ 27, 125 N.M. 66, 957 P.2d 51 (explaining the third prerequisite). Torres contends that the State failed to lay a proper foundation demonstrating that the HGN test was reliable scientific evidence, and therefore that Officer Bowdich's testimony failed to satisfy any of the prerequisites for expert testimony under Rule 11-702. We agree that the HGN testimony was improperly admitted under the evidentiary reliability standard adopted by this Court in Alberico, 116 N.M. at 166-70, 861 P.2d at 202-06, and explained in both Anderson, 118 N.M. at 290-92, 881 P.2d at 35-37, and Stills, 1998-NMSC-009, ¶¶ 22-34, 125 N.M. 66, 957 P.2d 51. {24} Following the lead of the United States Supreme Court in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993), this Court has established that it is error to admit expert testimony involving scientific knowledge unless the party offering such testimony first establishes the evidentiary reliability of the scientific knowledge. See Alberico, 116 N.M. at 166-69, 861 P.2d at 202-05. This evidentiary reliability standard replaced the older, stricter general acceptance standard, which required the proponent to show that the knowledge was generally accepted by the relevant scientific community. Daubert, 509 U.S. at 587-89, 113 S.Ct. 2786 (holding that, with their focus on relevance, the Federal Rules of Evidence superseded the general acceptance standard established in Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013, 1014 (D.C.Cir.1923)); Alberico, 116 N.M. at 167-68, 861 P.2d at 203-04 (rejecting Frye, and citing Daubert favorably). Alberico therefore established evidentiary reliability as the hallmark for the admissibility of scientific knowledge. {25} In Anderson, our first scientific knowledge case to follow Alberico, we considered the admissibility of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) typing under the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method. See Anderson, 118 N.M. at 287-90, 881 P.2d at 32-35. Anderson reaffirmed Alberico 's adoption of the evidentiary-reliability standard developed in Daubert, explaining that, `under the Rules [of Evidence] the trial judge must ensure that any and all scientific testimony or evidence admitted is not only relevant, but reliable. ' Anderson, 118 N.M. at 291, 881 P.2d at 36 (emphasis added) (quoting Daubert, 509 U.S. at 589, 113 S.Ct. 2786). We explained further that, in considering the reliability of any particular type of scientific knowledge, the trial court should consider the following factors: (1) whether a theory or technique can be (and has been) tested; (2) whether the theory or technique has been subjected to peer review and publication; (3) the known [or] potential rate of error in using a particular scientific techniqueand the existence and maintenance of standards controlling the technique's operation; and (4) whether the theory or technique has been generally accepted in the particular scientific field. Id. (quoting Daubert, 509 U.S. at 593-94, 113 S.Ct. 2786) (alteration indicating wording in Daubert ); cf. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. v. Robinson, 923 S.W.2d 549, 557 (Tex. 1995) (listing six factors to aid courts in determining evidentiary reliability). {26} In Stills, our next scientific knowledge case, we considered whether the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method of DNA analysis was admissible under the standards adopted in Alberico and reaffirmed in Anderson. See Stills, 1998-NMSC-009, ¶¶ 16-25, 125 N.M. 66, 957 P.2d 51. We held that, under the Alberico-Daubert standard, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting DNA typing evidence under the PCR technique. Id. ¶ 56, 125 N.M. 66, 957 P.2d 51. Like Anderson, Stills reaffirmed this Court's adoption of the evidentiary-reliability standard. Alberico, Anderson, and Stills all stand for the proposition that, in New Mexico, evidentiary reliability is the hallmark for the admissibility of scientific knowledge.
{27} The rule in this State has consistently been that the admission of expert testimony or other scientific evidence is peculiarly within the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be reversed absent a showing of abuse of that discretion. Alberico, 116 N.M. at 169, 861 P.2d at 205; accord Anderson, 118 N.M. at 292, 881 P.2d at 37; Stills, 1998-NMSC-009, ¶ 33, 125 N.M. 66, 957 P.2d 51. However, we have also noted: An abuse of discretion in a case [involving scientific evidence] can be found when the trial judge's action was obviously erroneous, arbitrary, or unwarranted.... [It] is not tantamount to rubber-stamping the trial judge's decision. It should not prevent an appellate court from conducting a meaningful analysis of the admission [of] scientific testimony to ensure that the trial judge's decision was in accordance with the Rules of Evidence and the evidence in the case. Alberico, 116 N.M. at 170, 861 P.2d at 206; accord Anderson, 118 N.M. at 292, 881 P.2d at 37; Stills, 1998-NMSC-009, ¶ 33, 125 N.M. 66, 957 P.2d 51.N.M. 66, 957 P.2d 51. {28} Moreover, the threshold question of whether the trial court applied the correct evidentiary rule or standard is subject to de novo review on appeal. See State v. Elinski, 1997-NMCA-117, ¶ 8, 124 N.M. 261, 948 P.2d 1209 ([O]ur review of the application of the law to the facts is conducted de novo.); cf. State v. Attaway, 117 N.M. 141, 144-45, 870 P.2d 103, 106-07 (1994) (discussing circumstances in which mixed questions of law and fact are subject to de novo review). [2] We realize that the Alberico-Daubert evidentiary standard gives rise to mixed questions of law and fact, and that the determination of whether to admit or exclude particular testimony under this standard may result from an inquiry that is `essentially factual.' Attaway, 117 N.M. at 144, 870 P.2d at 106 (quoting United States v. McConney, 728 F.2d 1195, 1202 (9th Cir.1984) (en banc)); cf. Alberico, 116 N.M. at 168, 861 P.2d at 204 (listing factors for trial courts to consider in assessing the validity of a particular technique). All the same, we discern that a trial court's initial determination of whether to apply the Alberico-Daubert standard in a given context requires consideration of `legal concepts in the mix of fact and law and [the] exercise [of] judgment about the values that animate legal principles.'  Attaway, 117 N.M. at 144, 870 P.2d at 106 (quoting McConney, 728 F.2d at 1202); see also Clarence Morris, Law and Fact, 55 Harv.L.Rev. 1303, 1328-29 (1942) (If a rule of law must be applied before a conclusion is reached, that conclusion is one of law.). As such, the initial determination of whether to apply the Alberico-Daubert standard entails a conclusion of law that is subject to de novo review. Cf. Edens v. New Mexico Health & Soc. Servs. Dep't, 89 N.M. 60, 62, 547 P.2d 65, 67 (1976) ([C]onclusions of law are freely reviewable.).
{29} In making the initial determination of whether the Alberico-Daubert evidentiary standard applies, some courts have established a threshold requirement that the scientific knowledge at issue must be novel. See, e.g., Thornton v. Caterpillar, Inc., 951 F.Supp. 575, 577 (D.S.C.1997)( Daubert should only apply to novel scientific testimony.); Johnson v. Knoxville Community Sch. Dist., 570 N.W.2d 633, 637 (Iowa 1997) (same). The better view, however, is that the Alberico-Daubert standard is not limited to novel scientific theories. See Cummins v. Lyle Indus., 93 F.3d 362, 367 n. 2 (7th Cir. 1996) (citing Daubert, 509 U.S. at 592 n. 11, 113 S.Ct. 2786). While it is true that some of our past decisions involved scientific theories that may have been regarded as novel at the time, see, e.g., Alberico, 116 N.M. at 175, 861 P.2d at 211 (post-traumatic stress disorder); Anderson, 118 N.M. at 287-90, 881 P.2d at 32-35 (DNA typing under the RFLP method), we have never held that the Alberico-Daubert evidentiary standard is limited to scientific knowledge that is novel. Further, while a novel scientific theory might be admissible under the Alberico-Daubert standard, notwithstanding the fact that it has not achieved the level of acceptance required to meet the Frye standard, it does not follow that Daubert applies only to scientific knowledge that is novel or not generally accepted. On the contrary, the Alberico-Daubert standard explicitly incorporates general acceptance as a factor for courts to consider in determining the admissibility of scientific testimony, see Anderson, 118 N.M. at 299-300, 881 P.2d at 44-45, and we believe that the novel status of a particular scientific principle or procedure may be addressed in considering this factor. Indeed, in some contexts novelty may be nothing more than an antonym for general acceptance. For these reasons, a finding that the scientific principles underlying HGN testing are generally accepted (or no longer a novelty) does not necessarily preclude consideration of other factors relevant to the Alberico-Daubert inquiry.
{30} Courts in other jurisdictions disagree about whether the results of HGN testing in particular constitute scientific evidence that is subject to the Alberico-Daubert standard. See State v. Meador, 674 So.2d 826, 833-34 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1996) (noting that a minority of states have concluded that the HGN test is not based on scientific expertise, while the majority have concluded that the results of HGN testing are scientific evidence); State v. Merritt, 36 Conn.App. 76, 647 A.2d 1021, 1026-28 (1994) (same); State v. Ruthardt, 680 A.2d 349, 355-56 (Del.Super.Ct.1996) (same). Today we adopt the majority view that the results of HGN testing constitute scientific evidence that must meet the standard of evidentiary reliability articulated in Alberico and Daubert. {31} The rationale for requiring evidence of HGN test results to meet the Alberico-Daubert standard has been well stated by other courts: [W]hile most of the field sobriety tests are self-explanatory, HGN is not. When courts have taken judicial notice of the common physical manifestations of intoxication, horizontal gaze nystagmus is not included. Horizontal gaze nystagmus is not just a symptom such as slurred speech or bloodshot eyes, which are commonly understood signs of intoxication.... The phenomena being tested are predicated on a scientific or medical principle that the automatic tracking mechanisms of the eye are affected by alcohol.... .... ... [T]he significance of the HGN observation is based on principles of medicine and science not readily understandable to the jury. We thus conclude that the HGN test is scientific evidence.... Meador, 674 So.2d at 833-34 (citations omitted); accord Merritt, 647 A.2d at 1026-28; Ruthardt, 680 A.2d at 355-56. We find this reasoning persuasive. {32} Because we adopt this reasoning, we take this opportunity to correct any misapprehension of the law that may arise from Burke, 1999-NMCA-031, ¶¶ 11-14, 126 N.M. 712, 974 P.2d 1169. While the Court of Appeals correctly notes that the use of HGN testimony is not lay opinion under Rule 11-701 NMRA 1999, id. ¶ 12, the discussion of the HGN testimony in that case does not support the general proposition that HGN evidence is not based on scientific principles, id. ¶ 14. Indeed, the trial court was never asked to analyze the HGN evidence under the Alberico-Daubert standard in Burke because the defendant in that case did not object below that there was no scientific basis for the officer's testimony; [he] never mentioned either ... Alberico ... or Rule 11-702. Id. We thus limit Burke, 1999-NMCA-031, ¶ 14, 126 N.M. 712, 974 P.2d 1169, to the situation where the trial court is not asked to perform an Alberico-Daubert analysis of HGN evidence, and thus the issue is not preserved for appellate review.
{33} Because we conclude that HGN testing involves scientific knowledge, we hold that the HGN evidence in this case must satisfy the requirements of Alberico-Daubert. In short, `under the Rules [of Evidence] the trial judge must ensure that any and all scientific testimony or evidence admitted is not only relevant, but reliable.' Anderson, 118 N.M. at 291, 881 P.2d at 36 (quoting Daubert, 509 U.S. at 589, 113 S.Ct. 2786). {34} Although [t]he inquiry envisioned... is ... a flexible one, Daubert, 509 U.S. at 594, 113 S.Ct. 2786, determining the evidentiary reliability of scientific knowledge does require trial courts to consider several factors, see Stills, 1998-NMSC-009, ¶ 27, 125 N.M. 66, 957 P.2d 51; cf. Anderson, 118 N.M. at 291, 881 P.2d at 36 (listing factors). Further, the overarching subject [of the inquiry] is the scientific validityand thus the evidentiary relevance and reliabilityof the principles that underlie a proposed submission. The focus ... must be solely on principles and methodology, not on the conclusions that they generate. Daubert, 509 U.S. at 594-95, 113 S.Ct. 2786; accord Alberico, 116 N.M. at 168, 861 P.2d at 204. {35} Our review of the record indicates that the trial court did not consider any of the required factors for assessing the evidentiary reliability of HGN testing in this case, nor was there an appropriate focus on principles and methodology. Rather, the trial court simply overruled Torres's objection that the State had failed to establish the evidentiary reliability of Officer Bowdich's HGN testimony, and no application of the Alberico-Daubert standard ensued. Because the trial court allowed the State to continue its questioning of Officer Bowdich concerning the HGN test without a proper inquiry into the evidentiary reliability of this test, we must presume that the trial court viewed the Alberico-Daubert standard as inapposite under the facts of this case. This view is premised on a misapprehension of the law, and we hold that the trial court's decision to admit the HGN testimony without applying the Alberico-Daubert standard is reversible error in this case. {36} The State proposes three arguments to the contrary, but we remain unconvinced. First, the State relies on State ex rel. Hamilton v. City Court, 165 Ariz. 514, 799 P.2d 855, 858 (1990) (en banc), for the proposition that the proper foundation for HGN evidence is limited to describing the officer's education and experience in administering the test and showing that proper procedures were followed. This argument is unpersuasive. Unlike New Mexico, the Arizona courts have rejected Daubert in favor of the general acceptance standard articulated in Frye, 293 F. at 1014. See State v. Tankersley, 191 Ariz. 359, 956 P.2d 486, 491 (1998). Given that HGN testimony had been ruled admissible in Arizona courts four years prior to City Court, see State v. Superior Court, 149 Ariz. 269, 718 P.2d 171, 181 (1986) (en banc) we do not find it surprising that the prosecution met the general acceptance standard in that case without any additional testimony regarding the scientific principles upon which the HGN test is based. Further, we note that part of the reason the Arizona courts may regard such additional testimony as unnecessary is that they only admit HGN evidence for limited purposes such as establishing probable cause and corroborating the results of more reliable sobriety tests such as chemical analyses of breath, blood, or urine. See Superior Court, 718 P.2d at 181-82. Thus, it is not clear that the HGN evidence in this case would be admissible under the Arizona standard, because the State was not using this evidence merely to corroborate a chemical analysis of Torres's blood alcohol content. Indeed, the State offered no such analysis in this case. {37} Although the State presented evidence at trial as to Officer Bowdich's training and experience with HGN testing, we conclude that his training and experience are not sufficiently probative of the test's evidentiary reliability. We note that some courts have allowed the admission of HGN testimony for limited purposes without a scientific expert laying an appropriate foundation under the relevant admissibility standard. See, e.g., Whitson v. State, 314 Ark. 458, 863 S.W.2d 794, 798 (1993) (holding that admission of HGN evidence for the limited purpose of showing unquantified level of alcohol consumption did not require a preliminary inquiry regarding novel scientific knowledge); State v. Murphy, 451 N.W.2d 154, 157-58 (Iowa 1990) (holding that HGN testing is not unlike any other lay, field-sobriety test and that it therefore requires no admissibility foundation for scientific evidence); City of Fargo v. McLaughlin, 512 N.W.2d 700, 708 (N.D.1994) (We agree with those cases holding that the only foundation required [for HGN testing] is a showing of the officer's training and experience in administering the test, and a showing that the test was in fact properly administered.); State v. Bresson, 51 Ohio St.3d 123, 554 N.E.2d 1330, 1336 (1990) (holding that HGN evidence is as admissible as would be other field sobriety tests). Nevertheless, we find persuasive the reasoning of other courts which have held that if police officers are not qualified to testify about the scientific bases underlying the HGN test, they are not competent to establish that the test satisfies the relevant admissibility standard. See, e.g., People v. Leahy, 8 Cal.4th 587, 34 Cal.Rptr.2d 663, 882 P.2d 321, 334 (1994) (in bank); Merritt, 647 A.2d at 1026-28; People v. Vega, 145 Ill. App.3d 996, 99 Ill.Dec. 808, 496 N.E.2d 501, 504-05 (1986); State v. Witte, 251 Kan. 313, 836 P.2d 1110, 1116 (1992); State v. Borchardt, 224 Neb. 47, 395 N.W.2d 551, 559 (1986); cf. Barrett v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 95 F.3d 375, 382 (5th Cir.1996) (holding that an animal behaviorist was not qualified to testify about the cause of observed chromosomal changes to rats due to their exposure to chemicals, or about the possible effects of similar exposure on humans, because such testimony was beyond his expertise); 4 Jack B. Weinstein & Margaret A. Berger, Weinstein's Federal Evidence, § 702.06[1], at 702-44 to -45 (Joseph M. McLaughlin ed., 2d ed. 1998) (The trial court should exclude proffered expert testimony if the subject of the testimony lies outside the witness's area of expertise.). {38} As its second argument in support of its contention that the trial court did not err in admitting the HGN evidence, the State cites case law from other jurisdictions for the proposition that HGN testing is generally accepted in the scientific community. See, e.g., Superior Court, 718 P.2d at 180-81, app. A, at 182, app. B, at 182-84 (concluding that HGN testing is generally accepted in the scientific community, and listing scholarly sources in support of this conclusion); People v. Joehnk, 35 Cal. App.4th 1488, 42 Cal.Rptr.2d 6, 9-17 (1995) (concluding, upon a review of the expert testimony introduced at trial as well as a review of the case law of California and other jurisdictions, that HGN testing is generally accepted in the scientific community as a useful tool when combined with other tests and observations); Schultz v. State, 106 Md.App. 145, 664 A.2d 60, 70-74 (1995) (taking judicial notice of the scientific validity of HGN testing based on reported case law and scientific literature). However, in Alberico, we concluded that [i]t is improper to look for scientific acceptance only from reported case law. 116 N.M. at 167, 861 P.2d at 203. We reaffirm that conclusion today. {39} The thrust of the policy behind Alberico, Anderson, and Stills is to broaden the trial court's role in admitting evidence of scientific knowledge. Specifically, Alberico and its progeny allow a trial court to admit evidence of scientific knowledge that is adequately valid (from a scientific viewpoint) to be sufficiently reliable (from an evidentiary viewpoint). To facilitate this intent, Alberico rejected the principle that general acceptance within a particular scientific discipline was a necessary or sufficient condition for evidentiary admissibility. See Alberico, 116 N.M. at 167, 861 P.2d at 203. {40} At this point, we do not decide whether HGN testing is adequately valid from a scientific point of view based on reported case law or other authorities. Cf. Vega, 99 Ill.Dec. 808, 496 N.E.2d at 504-05 (refusing to accept evidence regarding the scientific validity of HGN testing for the first time on appeal). Our holding is limited to whether the State provided sufficient support at trial for a threshold determination that the underlying scientific technique is based upon well-recognized scientific principle and... is capable of supporting opinions based upon reasonable probability rather than conjecture. Alberico, 116 N.M. at 167, 861 P.2d at 203. We hold that the State did not satisfy its Alberico-Daubert burden. Although Officer Bowdich testified that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) accepted HGN testing, that the test was nationally certified, and that the test was routinely given, his testimony was insufficient to establish the evidentiary reliability required by Alberico-Daubert. Officer Bowdich was not qualified to testify about the scientific bases of HGN testing, and although his testimony lent support for a conclusion that the test was widely usedthus giving rise to an inference of general acceptancehis testimony did not explain how the test proved intoxication. He therefore did not assist the trier of fact in understanding the scientific validity of the test. In addition, although his testimony supported an inference that various authorities believe HGN testing to be scientifically valid, his testimony did not provide the trier of fact with a ground on which to evaluate the basis of that belief. {41} In its final argument, the State asserts that, [i]f this Court desires, judicial notice may be taken of the limited fact that HGN is a scientific test used to determine whether someone is under the influence. We conclude at this point that HGN testing does not meet the criteria we have previously established for the proper taking of judicial notice: This court, since early territorial days, has expressed the view that courts will take judicial notice of matters of common and general knowledge. The matter of which a court will take judicial notice must be a subject of common and general knowledge. The matter must be known, that is well established and authoritatively settled. Thus, uncertainty of the matter or fact in question will operate to preclude judicial notice thereof. Rozelle v. Barnard, 72 N.M. 182, 183, 382 P.2d 180, 181 (1963) (citations omitted); accord Holton v. Janes, 25 N.M. 374, 379, 183 P. 395, 397 (1919); see also Hartford Accident & Indem. Co. v. Beevers, 84 N.M. 159, 162-63, 500 P.2d 444, 447-48 (Ct.App.1972) (refusing to take judicial notice of a general law of nature concerning the combustibility of gases where there was no showing as to how this law was affected by variables). {42} We are not persuaded that HGN testing is a subject of common and general knowledge, or a matter well established and authoritatively settled in New Mexico. We therefore determine that judicial notice of the evidentiary reliability of HGN testing would be inappropriate at this time. Specifically, we hold that because the State failed to establish the evidentiary reliability of HGN testing, the HGN testimony should not have been admitted at trial.