Sexually Violent Persons — expert testimony — equal protection

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Wisconsin Court of Appeals

Criminal

Sexually Violent Persons — expert testimony — equal protection

It does not violate equal protection for circuit courts to apply the pre-Daubert standard for expert testimony to persons committed prior to Feb. 1, 2011.

“The continuation of a WIS. STAT. ch.980 civil commitment is a significant deprivation of liberty, but Knipfer’s equal protection challenge relates only to whether the Daubert evidentiary standard applies, not to the use of ch. 980 commitments in general. And, as we suggested in Alger, being subject to the pre-Daubert standard is not the same as being deprived of a meaningful opportunity to challenge expert evidence. See Alger, 2013 WI App 148, __ Wis. 2d __, ¶22. Finally, there is no stand-alone right to the application of the Daubert standard.”

Affirmed.

Recommended for publication in the official reports.

2013AP578 State v. Knipfer

Dist. IV, Dane County, McNamara, J., Lundsten, J.

Attorneys: For Appellant: Lang, Donald T., Madison; For Respondent: Noet, Nancy A., Madison; Ozanne, Ismael R., Madison