Opinion ID: 2028835
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: expert testimony of dr. thomas haley

Text: Haley is a psychologist licensed by the State of Nebraska. He has been engaged in a general private practice in Omaha since 1983. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and a master's degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska. His practice includes working with children and families, and he has testified as an expert on custody issues on more than 100 occasions since 1978. At the request of Amy's counsel, he interviewed and evaluated the parties and their children on two occasions in December 2002, but did not perform a full custody evaluation. He recorded his observations and opinions in a written memorandum dated December 28, 2002, which was apparently furnished to counsel for both parties prior to trial. At the time Haley authored his memorandum, the alternating visitation schedule under the temporary order was in effect. The record discloses no pretrial objection to Haley's expert testimony. At trial, during direct examination by Amy's counsel, Haley was asked to state his opinion with respect to the alternating visitation schedule in effect under the temporary order. Timothy's counsel objected and requested leave to voir dire the witness on his qualifications. Leave was granted, and voir dire examination elicited Haley's admission that he had not seen the parties or their children since December 2002 and that his opinion had not changed since he wrote the memorandum of December 28, 2002. Haley also conceded that he did not perform a full custody evaluation, which would have required additional testing. At the close of his voir dire, Timothy's counsel objected to Haley providing any expert evaluation, arguing that he had not performed a full custody evaluation. The court sustained the objection as to the methodology and suggested that additional foundation was needed. Amy's counsel then elicited Haley's testimony that his techniques were established and recognized in the profession of psychology, that they were peer reviewable, and that he had formed opinions to a reasonable degree of psychological certainty. Haley was then asked if in his opinion it was in the best interests of the children to move them frequently from Amy's home to Timothy's home. Timothy's counsel objected as to foundation and to qualifications, and the court overruled the objection. Haley then testified that frequent movement of the children was not in their best interests because it eliminated the experience of having a home base, a sense of home, a place where they belong. He further opined that with frequent movement, there's no sense of their own room, their own friends, their own neighborhood. Haley was then asked if he had an opinion as to whether or not it is better to have them have extended stays at [Amy's] house? Timothy's counsel objected on grounds that Haley had not done a custody evaluation and that the requested opinion was not set forth in his December 28, 2002, memorandum. The court overruled the objection, and Haley gave an affirmative response to the question. During recross-examination, Haley admitted that his memorandum did not state an opinion as to which parent should be awarded custody of the children and that the memorandum was directed solely to the circumstances existing under the temporary order then in effect. Timothy's counsel offered the memorandum into evidence without limitation, and it was received without objection. An expert's opinion is ordinarily admissible under Neb.Rev.Stat. § 27-702 (Reissue 1995) if the witness (1) qualifies as an expert, (2) has an opinion that will assist the trier of fact, (3) states his or her opinion, and (4) is prepared to disclose the basis of that opinion on cross-examination. Heistand v. Heistand, 267 Neb. 300, 673 N.W.2d 541 (2004). When the opinion involves scientific or specialized knowledge, this court held in Schafersman v. Agland Coop, 262 Neb. 215, 631 N.W.2d 862 (2001), that we will apply the principles of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993). Under our recent Daubert/Schafersman jurisprudence, the trial court acts as a gatekeeper to ensure the evidentiary relevance and reliability of an expert's opinion. Zimmerman v. Powell, ante , 268 Neb. 422, 684 N.W.2d 1 (2004); Carlson v. Okerstrom, 267 Neb. 397, 675 N.W.2d 89 (2004). This entails a preliminary assessment of whether the reasoning or methodology underlying the testimony is valid and whether that reasoning or methodology can be applied to the facts in issue. Zimmerman v. Powell, supra; Schafersman v. Agland Coop, supra . In addition, the trial court must determine if the witness has applied the methodology in a reliable manner. Carlson v. Okerstrom, supra . In this appeal, Timothy does not challenge Haley's professional qualifications or the scientific reliability of the methodology used by psychologists like Haley in conducting child custody evaluations. Rather, he argues that Haley's opinions were inadmissible because he did not conduct a full custody evaluation or perform any of the testing that would have been included in such an evaluation. We understand this argument to be directed at the second component of the Daubert/Schafersman analysis, namely, whether the expert has reliably applied methodology which is itself reliable if properly applied. We conclude that this argument has merit with respect to Haley's opinion that it would be in the best interests of the children to award permanent custody to Amy. The record clearly reflects that Haley did not apply the accepted psychological methodology necessary to formulate this opinion. Accordingly, we disregard Haley's opinion as to permanent custody in our de novo review of that issue. To the extent that Timothy is challenging Haley's opinion regarding the children's behavior during the period when the temporary order was in effect, we find no similar infirmity. This opinion is based upon Haley's clinical observation and impression of the parties and their children at a specific point in time several months prior to trial. Haley's trial testimony in this regard reflects the content of his December 28, 2002, memorandum, which was received in evidence without limitation or objection. Accordingly, we will consider this aspect of Haley's testimony in our de novo review of the custody determination.