Opinion ID: 1778032
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Testimony Concerning the Position of the Automobile Headlight Switch and the Battery Cable Experiment

Text: The appellant contends that the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to admit testimony regarding the position of the headlight switch and an experiment regarding the effect of placing the battery cable on the proper terminal on the day following the accident. The admissibility of out-of-court experiments is committed to the sound discretion of the trial court judge, and the exercise of such discretion will not be reversed except for gross abuse. Alonzo v. State ex rel. Booth, 283 Ala. 607, 610, 219 So.2d 858 (1969); Helton v. Easter, 41 Ala. App. 648, 654, 148 So.2d 486 (1962); Gamble, McElroy's Alabama Evidence, § 81.01(3) (3d Ed. 1977). Moreover, before a trial court may consider the admissibility of an experiment, a predicate or test of reasonable or substantial similarity must be satisfied by the proponent of the experimental evidence. As the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals has expressed: There must be similarity of conditions and circumstances at the time of a test as compared to the time of the event charged for the results of such test to have sufficient probative value for admission into evidence. It is for the court to determine whether conditions are sufficiently similar to warrant admission of such evidence. Much is left to the discretion of the trial court. Burgess Mining & Const. Corp. v. State ex rel. Baxley, 55 Ala.App. 61, at 67, 312 So.2d 842 (Ala.Civ.App.1975). After reviewing the record and facts of this case, we cannot hold that the trial judge's ruling to exclude this evidence was an abuse of his discretion. The trial judge ruled that the appellant would be allowed to introduce testimony regarding collision damage to appellant's automobile observed by witnesses the day following the accident. The trial court judge properly sustained appellee's objections to testimony regarding matters not involved with the collision damage, and for which no proper predicate had been laid, specifically, the position of the headlight switch and the effect of placing the battery cable on the proper terminal on the day following the accident. Consequently, in view of the discretion afforded the trial court in determining the probative value and admissibility of appellant's evidence, this Court finds that the trial court judge did not commit reversible error; he acted within the bounds of sound discretion in refusing to admit testimony of appellant's witnesses concerning the position of the headlight switch and the working condition of one of appellant's headlights.