Court Opinion

ID: 9721627
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 09:03:53.919516+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:27.764705
License: Public Domain

RATLIFEF, Chief Judge,
concurring.
In discussing the admissibility of expert testimony, the majority opinion states there are two requirements which must be met to qualify a witness as an expert. First, the subject matter must be distinctly related to some scientific field or occupation as to be beyond the knowledge of the average lay person, and, second, the witness must be shown to have sufficient skill, knowledge, or experience in that field to indicate the opinion of that witness probably will aid the trier of fact. The majority cites, City of Indianapolis v. Robinson (1981), Ind.App., 427 N.E.2d 902, trans. denied, at 1296.
While the majority opinion correctly reflects the traditional rule as to qualification of expert witnesses, in my view, the first requirement is not in keeping with the modern view of expert testimony. The clear trend of authority is to focus upon the training, experience, and qualifications of the expert and whether the expert's opinion will assist the trier in performing its fact finding functions, and to reject the premise that the subject of the opinion must be beyond the knowledge of the average lay person. In discussing this rule in Summers v. State (1986), Ind.App., 495 N.E.2d 799, 802-08, trans. denied, we said:
"An expert witness is one who, by reason of education or special experience, has knowledge concerning a subject matter about which persons who have no particular training are incapable of forming an accurate opinion or making a correct decision. Wade v. State (1986), Ind., 490 N.E.2d 1097; Moody v. State (1983), Ind., 448 N.E.2d 660. The trial court has broad discretion in determining the qualifications of an expert and in admitting opinion evidence. The sufficiency of the foundation for opinion evidence is a matter committed to the sound discretion of the trial court whose decision will be reversed only for an abuse of that discretion. Id.
"Although it has been said that an expert witness must have observed facts sufficient to enable him to form a valid opinion, McFarland v. State (1978), 269 Ind. 385, 381 N.E.2d 85, those facts may be supplied in the form of a hypothetical question which incorporates facts previously adduced at the trial. Ashby v. State (1985), Ind., 486 N.E.2d 469; Brown v. State (1979), 271 Ind. 129, 390 N.E.2d 1000.
"It also has been said that expert testimony is inappropriate and may be excluded from evidence when it concerns matters within the common knowledge and experience of ordinary persons and which the jury may determine as well as the expert. Breese v. State (1983), Ind.App., 449 N.E.2d 1098, trans. denied; City of Bloomington v. Holt (1977), 172 Ind.App. 650, 361 N.E.2d 1211, trans. denied; Rosenbalm v. Winski (1975), 165 Ind.App. 378, 332 N.E.2d 249, trans. denied. However, if appropriate, opinion testimony by an expert witness even as to an ultimate fact in issue is not objectionable for the reason that it invades the province of the trier of fact. Breese, at 1111. To qualify as an expert, it has been said that two requirements must be met: (1) the subject matter must be related to some scientific field beyond the knowledge of the average lay person, and (2) the witness must be shown to have sufficient skill in that area so that his opinion probably will aid the trier of fact in its search for the truth. Grimes v. State (1983), Ind., 450 N.E.2d 512. The trend of recent cases seems to focus more attention on the knowledge and skill of the expert and whether the expert's opinion will be helpful to the trier of fact than on the question of the knowledge of the jury. See E.W. Cleary, McCormick on Evidence, at 33 (3d ed. 1984). This standard is incorporated in Fed.Rule of Evidence 702, which provides:
*1306'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.'
"In commenting upon Fed.R.Evid. 702, one authority has said:
'Must a court exelude expert testimony if the subject is within the comprehension of the average juror? Such a test is incompatable with the standard of helpfulness expressed in Rule 702. First, it assumes wrongly that there is a bright line separating issues within the comprehension of jurors from those that are not. Secondly, even when jurors are well equipped to make judgments on the basis of their common knowledge and experience, experts may have specialized knowledge to bring to bear on the same issue which would be helpful.'
3 J. Weinstein and M. Berger, Weinstein's Evidence, § 702(02) (1985).
"We believe the above quoted comment from Weinstein, although directed to Fed.R. of Evid. 702, is appropriate to our consideration of this issue. The modern trend is away from strict application of the rule excluding expert testimony on subjects within the common knowledge of jurors. Carlson v. Hudson (1974), 19 Ill.App.3d 576, 312 N.E.2d 19; Stanley v. Board of Education (1973), 9 Ill.App.3d 963, 293 N.E.2d 417.
"Traditionally, expert testimony has not been permitted when its subject matter is not beyond the knowledge and experience of the average juror [citation omitted], but more recently, the trend is to permit it if the expert has some special knowledge and his testimony is of aid to the jury even though the average juror would also have some knowledge of the subject matter. [Citations omitted.]'
Binge v. J.J. Borders Construction Co. (1981), 95 Ill.App.3d 238, 50 Ill.Dec. 788, 791, 419 N.E.2d 1237, 1240. The modern standard for admissibility of expert testimony is whether that testimony will aid the jurors in understanding the facts. Johnson v. Commonwealth Edison Co. (1985), 133 Ill.App.3d 472, 88 Ill.Dec. 449, 479 N.E.2d 1057. In order to be admitted into evidence, the expert testimony must assist the trier of fact in understanding the evidence or deciding a factual issue, and the witness must be qualified by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education to give such testimony. Ruffiner v. Material Service Corp. (1985), 134 Ill.App.3d 747, 89 Ill.Dec. 414, 480 N.E.2d 1157."
Under the modern trend, the testimony of Doctors Terhune and Martin clearly would have aided the jury in reaching a decision, and the witnesses were shown to be sufficiently skilled by training, education, and experience to meet the qualification requirement for expert opinion testimony. Further, even under the traditional rule, the subject of their testimony related to a scientific field beyond the knowledge of the average lay person, thereby meeting the first requirement of the traditional rule for allowance of such evidence. The see-ond requirement clearly was met.
Although in this case, both requirements of the traditional rule as to qualifications of expert witnesses were met, I think we do not aid the fact finding process by continuing to adhere to outmoded concepts. By continuing to refer to the requirements of the traditional rule, we are regressing from our prior decision in Summers. Thus, as we did in Summers, I would elect to follow the modern rule as to expert testimony.
With the foregoing reservation concerning the appropriate standard by which to determine the qualifications of expert witnesses, I concur.