On Point blog, page 4 of 4
Confrontation – Expert Opinion Based on Hearsay
State v. Craig A. Swope, 2008 WI App 175
For Swope: Dianne M. Erickson
Issue: Whether an FBI agent’s expert opinion, that the simultaneous deaths of an elderly couple were the result of homicide rather than natural causes, was improperly based on hearsay, namely the opinions of two non-testifying experts who thought the likelihood of natural causes so remote as to be impossible.
Holding:
¶35 In State v.
Confrontation – Expert Testimony: Crime Lab Analyst, Opinion Based in Part on Another’s Testing
State v. David Barton, 2006 WI App 18
For Barton: Leonard D. Kachinsky
Issue: Whether the expert opinion of a crime lab analyst, presenting his own conclusions about tests performed by a non-testifying analyst, violated confrontation.
Holding:
¶16 Like the unit leader’s testimony in Williams, Olson’s testimony was properly admitted because he was a qualified unit leader presenting his individual,