Opinion ID: 1379489
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: instruction on weight of expert testimony

Text: Upon the trial court's denial of the appellant's motion for a mistrial based upon the form of Dr. Sopher's testimony, the appellant did not then move for a cautionary instruction on the jury's not giving undue weight to expert testimony. The appellant did later request, during settling of instructions, that the trial court give an instruction to the effect that the jurors should not give excessive weight to expert testimony. [8] The trial court, over objection, refused to give the appellant's instruction. It believed that the substance thereof was adequately covered by the court's charge to the jury, which included this language: You are not bound to accept an expert opinion as conclusive, as you are the judges of the facts, but you should give to it the weight that you find it to be entitled. The court's charge also stated that the jurors may also consider the qualifications and credibility of the experts. The appellant assigns as error the trial court's refusal to give his instruction on the weight of the expert testimony. This assignment of error is without merit. We agree with the trial court that the substance of the requested instruction was adequately covered by the court's charge to the jury. It is not reversible error to refuse to give instructions offered by a party that are adequately covered by other instructions given by the court. Syl. pt. 20, State v. Hamric, 151 W.Va. 1, 151 S.E.2d 252 (1966). Accord, State v. Dudley, ___ W.Va. ___, ___, 358 S.E.2d 206, 211 (1987); State v. Brown, ___ W.Va. ___, ___, 355 S.E.2d 614, 623 (1987); syl. pt. 2, State v. Hamilton, ___ W.Va. ___, 355 S.E.2d 400 (1987); syl. pt. 6, State v. Thompson, ___ W.Va. ___, 342 S.E.2d 268 (1986); syl. pt. 3, State v. Evans, ___ W.Va. ___, 310 S.E.2d 877 (1983); syl. pt. 5, State v. Ashcraft, ___ W.Va. ___, 309 S.E.2d 600 (1983); syl. pt. 4, State v. Helmick, 169 W.Va. 94, 286 S.E.2d 245 (1982); State v. Scotchel, 168 W.Va. 545, 554, 285 S.E.2d 384, 390 (1981). Moreover, as discussed previously in section II of this opinion, bite-mark evidence, unlike most scientific evidence, lends itself readily to verification and understanding by the triers of the facts; they can see the extent to which the bite mark conforms to the suspect's teeth. Therefore, the jurors in a bite-mark case are not likely to give undue weight to the expert's testimony, and the trial court need not, sua sponte or on request, instruct the jury specifically that expert testimony is not to be given peculiar weight. An instruction in such a case which tells the jury that it is to determine the weight to be given to expert testimony is sufficient.