Opinion ID: 1169864
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the experimental evidence

Text: Near the close of the state's case the prosecution introduced testimony of an experiment conducted by Frank W. Sharp, District Protection Officer of the Department of Fish and Game, the experiment having been conducted on September 3, 1967. The purpose of the experiment was to show that the WHIDBY would not have drifted into the closed area of the bay on August 21. This testimony was admitted over the objection of the appellants, and it is upon the denial of the motion to exclude this evidence that this appeal is based. On September 3, Mr. Sharp took the patrol boat HARLEQUIN to Red Bluff Bay. The HARLEQUIN was brought up to the markers which designated the closed area, the engines were put in neutral, and the vessel drifted away from the closed area into the outer portions of Red Bluff Bay. The test was repeated with the same results. At the time of the experiment the tide was about 9.2 feet above datum plane, and it was about two hours after the turn of the tide while it was on the flood. It was established by examination of the witness that the HARLEQUIN was a 50-foot craft with a low silhouette and a four-foot draft. In comparison, the WHIDBY was a 40- to 45-foot fishing vessel with a five- to six-foot draft and a substantial amount of gear above the deck. The HARLEQUIN had no seine hoisted above the deck and no seine full of fish submerged below the water. The wind during the experiment was estimated as gusting at five to six miles per hour into the bay, although at times during the experiment there was no wind at all. Mr. Sharp testified that he thought the reason for the HARLEQUIN's outward drift was the fresh water flow from a waterfall inside the closed area which created an outgoing current in the bay at all times. However, no hydrographic evidence on this or any other characteristic of current flow in Red Bluff Bay was presented. It is noteworthy that Mr. Sharp did not claim qualifications as an expert on the hydrographic characteristics of Red Bluff Bay nor even as an expert general mariner. Counsel for appellants moved to exclude the experimental evidence on the ground that the conditions of the experiment were essentially dissimilar to those on the night of the alleged offense. He said, About the only similarity, apparently, is that the tide was approximately the same but we don't have any gear, fish in the water, we've got different vessels, different drafts, different wind conditions, and I can't see any value that this testimony would serve except possibly to confuse the jury. The district court overruled the objection, stating that the differences and circumstances went to the weight of the testimony rather than to its admissibility, and admitted the evidence. The superior court affirmed the judgments of conviction. The court reasoned that even though the testimony of Sharp should not have been admitted, there was more than sufficient other evidence upon which the jury might have based their verdicts.