Court Opinion

ID: 9788758
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 01:17:23.805246+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:16.558834
License: Public Domain

MANNHEIMER, Judge,
concurring.
I agree that Judge Esch acted within his proper discretion when he refused to allow Vent to present the expert testimony of Dr. Richard Leo. However, unlike my colleagues, I do not believe that this question hinges on the Daubert-Coon rule governing the admission of scientific testimony. Rather, Judge Esch's ruling should be upheld on the basis he himself articulated: Dr. Leo's proposed testimony would not appreciably aid the jury because it was based on common sense rather than scientific expertise.
*671Dr. Leo was extensively examined (outside the presence of the jury) concerning his proposed testimony. He stated that, if allowed to testify, he wished to dispel "the common belief that people do not make unreliable or false statements unless they're tortured or [are] mentally il." Dr. Leo continued:
I would explain that that's not the case. Sometimes, people do make false statements, even if they're not physically tortured or mentally ill.... There is psychological research that explains how certain [interrogation] techniques can lead people to make the decision to confess, whether they're guilty or innocent. And ... there are certain principles of analysis that researchers use to evaluate whether or not a statement is likely reliable or likely unreliable.
Dr. Leo then explained that, "with regard to the question of [a confession's] reliability,
what researchers look at is the post-admission [narrative] that the suspect gives what the suspect says after the words, "I did it." What we call the "post-admission narrative." [We examine] whether that post-admission narrative fits the facts of the crime and demonstrates that the suspect possesses actual knowledge [of what the suspect is describing]. If the suspect is giving a truthful and reliable confession, one would expect the confession to fit the facts of the crime ... [and] to lead to new evidence where applicable, ... derivative evidence, [and] to reveal details that were only known by the police [and] the true perpetrator, ... not public knowledge, and [one would also expect the confession] to be corroborated by physical and medical evidence.
Later, during cross-examination by the prosecutor, Dr. Leo summarized his two areas of expertise. First, Leo told the court that he had investigated, and could testify about, the techniques that are effective in getting people to admit things that are against their own self-interest. Second, Leo told the court that he had investigated, and could testify about, the principles that allow researchers to determine whether the confession is reliable or not-the same principles that he described in the excerpt just quoted.
With regard to Dr. Leo's first area of expertise-his study of interrogation techniques-Leo did not claim the ability to tell whether specific interrogation techniques had caused an innocent person to falsely confess, nor did Leo claim that he could discern when specific interrogation techniques had overborne a suspect's will. He clarified that "[his] expertise is not on psychological mental states, but on the interrogation techniques and tactics, and their influence on decision-making." Leo explained that he was not an expert on the mental state of the confessing suspect-not able to identify whether a particular suspect was more susceptible or less susceptible to interrogation techniques, or whether a particular suspect was atypically influenced by the suggestions of his interrogators.
Rather, Leo told the court, his area of expertise was identification of the techniques that interrogators generally employ to convince suspects to confess. Leo had no opinion to offer as to whether these techniques led to truthful or false confessions. In fact, he told the court:
Dr. Leo: Even if an interrogation is [overtly] coercive, it still could produce a true confession. And so one can't infer from the [interrogative] techniques that are used, ... proper or improper, whether or not the confession is false. The only way to do [that] is to objectively analyze whether the suspect demonstrates actual knowledge [of the crime] and how [the suspect's narrative] fits with the record or doesn't fit with the record.
In sum, Dr. Leo told the court that he did not intend to express an opinion as to whether Vent did or did not participate in the homicide, or whether Vent was telling the truth or speaking falsely when he made his statements to the police. Instead, Dr. Leo proposed to acquaint the jury with the principles he had described for evaluating the truthfulness or reliability of a confession.
It is true that, in response to a question from Vent's attorney, Dr. Leo agreed that "there are scientifically known, provable ways to verify that a statement made to [the] police is true, accurate, and reliable." But *672Leo was speaking only of the principles he had enunciated before: the "fit" between the person's confession and the known facts of the crime. This became obvious when Leo offered examples of how his principles might be used to show that a confession was false. Leo offered the following examples: (1) a suspect confesses to a homicide, but later the purported victim shows up alive; (2) a suspect confesses to a crime, but later investigation shows that it would have been physically impossible for the suspect to have committed the crime-as, for instance, where the suspect was in prison or in another state at the time of the crime; and (8) a suspect confesses to a crime, but DNA analysis later shows that the suspect is definitely not the perpetrator.
At this point, Judge Esch asked Dr. Leo if there were other factors, besides the "fit" of the suspect's narrative with the facts of the case, that were relevant to assessing the truthfulness or reliability of a confession. Leo answered, "Not really."
After hearing this, Judge Esch wondered aloud whether Leo's proposed testimony would be of appreciable help to the jury, since his analysis appeared to be based on common sense rather than academic study or research. A few minutes later, after he had heard the arguments of the parties, Judge Esch formally ruled that Leo would not be allowed to testify concerning his technique for evaluating the truthfulness or reliability of a confession, since this technique amounted to nothing more than testing the details of the confession against the known facts. Judge Esch concluded that this was not a proper subject for expert testimony because the jurors would understand this without explanation from an expert.
After hearing a little more voir dire, Judge Esch preliminarily ruled that Dr. Leo would be allowed to testify concerning his study of police interrogation techniques, "but that alone." 1 The judge explained that he did not want Leo "to go into whether ... those [methods] are correct or incorrect, or the value of [the resulting] confessions-[whether they are] reliable or unreliable."
Under Alaska Evidence Rule 702(a), expert testimony is allowed when it will "appreciably assist the trier of fact."2 The test is "[whether] the witness' special knowledge [willl assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or determine a fact in issue."3 And, as the Alaska Supreme Court stated in D.H. v. State, "[the decision to admit opinion testimony into evidence lies within the sound discretion of the trial judge and is reviewable only for abuse of discretion." 4
Dr. Leo has earned university degrees (including a law degree) and, for several years, he has focused his studies on police interrogation techniques. But Dr. Leo's academic and research achievements are not determinative of whether Judge Esch should have allowed him to testify. The real question is whether Dr. Leo's proposed testimony was based on analysis or research that was beyond the ken of the normal juror. A witness may be an "expert" in the sense that they have specialized training or experience not shared by most people, but, under Evidence Rule 702(a), the proponent of the witness's testimony must further show that their proposed testimony is in fact grounded on this specialized training or experience.
Here, Judge Esch concluded that most of Dr. Leo's proposed testimony was not based *673on specialized training or experience, but rather was based on the common-sense notion that the truthfulness or reliability of a defendant's confession should be tested by seeing how the defendant's account meshed with the facts of the case. Judge Esceh's conclusion is firmly supported by the record of Dr. Leo's voir dire.
We addressed a similar situation in New v. State, 714 P.2d 378 (Alaska App.1986). The defendant in New offered an expert witness who would testify about the "point of no return" that a truck driver (or any motorist) would ultimately reach when confronted with a traffic emergency-the point at which the driver must commit to a particular course of action and hope for the best. The trial judge refused to allow the defendant to offer this testimony, and this Court upheld the trial judge's decision. We said:
We perceive no abuse of discretion in the present case. At best, [this witness's] testimony would have been cumulative and only marginally relevant. New's point of no return defense was based on a common sense notion, which is readily capable of being understood by lay persons. [The proposed witness's] testimony concerning the options open to a truck driver who goes beyond the point of no return would have added little to the understanding that any juror could reasonably be expected to have without the need for expert testimony.
New, 714 P.2d at 380.
Based on Dr. Leo's voir dire, Judge Esch could reasonably conclude that Dr. Leo's principles for determining the truthfulness or reliability of a confession amounted to nothing more than the common-sense notion that a confession must be tested against the known facts. This being so, Judge Esch did not abuse his discretion when he ruled that Leo's proposed testimony on this subject was not admissible under Evidence Rule 702(3).
For these reasons, I join my colleagues in upholding Judge Esch's decision to substantially restrict Dr. Leo's testimony.

. Leo proposed to give the following testimony concerning police interrogation techniques: The basic interrogation technique used by police is first to make the suspect feel that they are "trapped" or that their situation is hopeless; then, the police make the suspect feel that they can improve their situation if they confess. Thus, even though a confession is generally perceived to be against the confessing person's self-interest, the suspect begins to view the confession as actually promoting their self-interest. In instances where the suspect denies any memory of the crime, the police sometimes employ an alternative interrogation technique, which is to confront the suspect with physical evidence and/or the reports of other witnesses, attempting to convince the suspect that, though he may not remember it, he must have committed the crime.

. Coburn v. Burton, 790 P.2d 1355, 1358 (Alaska 1990), quoting D.H. v. State, 561 P.2d 294, 297 (Alaska 1977).

. Shepard v. State, 847 P.2d 75, 80 (Alaska App. 1993), quoting Norris v. Gatts, 738 P.2d 344, 350 (Alaska 1987).

. 561 P.2d 294, 297 (Alaska 1977).