6.Jury Instructions on Expert-Witness Testimony
9 linesMR. REDDINGTON: Yes. I call Dr. Vulfovich to the stand.
COURT CLERK: [oath administered]
THE COURT: All right, good afternoon.
THE COURT: All right. Mr. Reddington, why don't you hold off? I'm gonna give an instruction—
MR. REDDINGTON: Oh, sure.
THE COURT: ...at this point.
MR. REDDINGTON: Yeah.
THE COURT: So members of the jury, I just wanna give you an instruction. It's one I probably should've given a little bit earlier in the trial as well. It's gonna apply to this witness, it applies to a number of witnesses who testified earlier, and it's gonna apply to a number of witnesses who testify after. And it's in regards to expert witnesses. All right? So generally in cases that are tried in our courts, witnesses may testify only to facts that are within their own personal knowledge. All right. That's things that they've personally seen, heard, or felt. However, in a variety of cases, issues arise that are beyond the experiences of lay persons.
THE COURT: In those type of cases, we allow a person with specialized training or experience, called an expert witness, to testify, and to testify not only to facts, but also to opinions, and the reasons for their opinions on issues that are within that witness's field of expertise, and are relevant material to the case. Because a particular witness has specialized training and experience in their field does not put that witness on a higher level than any other witness, and you are to treat the so-called expert witness just like you would treat any other witness. In other words, as with any other witness, it's completely up to you to decide whether you accept the testimony of any expert witness, including the opinions that they give. It's also entirely up to you to decide whether you accept the facts they relied on by the expert, and to decide what conclusions, if any, you draw from the witness's testimony.
You're free to reject the testimony and opinion of such a witness in whole or in part if you determine that the opinion is not based on sufficient education and experience, that the testimony of the witness is motivated by some bias or interest in the case. You must keep firmly in mind that you alone, you alone decide what the facts are. So if you conclude that an expert's opinion is not based on the facts as you find those facts to be, then you may reject the testimony and the opinion of the expert in whole or in part. You must remember that expert witnesses do not decide cases, juries do. So in the last analysis, an expert witness is like any other witness in the sense that you alone make the judgment about how much credibility and weight you give to that expert's testimony, and what conclusions you draw from the testimony. All right? And I'll go into that a little bit more at the end when I go into the more extensive instructions that I'll give you at the end of the trial. All right. All right, Mr. Rankin.