Expert Testimony – Daubert Test

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WI Court of Appeals – District II

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Larry J. Smith

Case No: 2015AP2653-CR

Officials: Neubauer, C.J., Reilly, P.J., and Gundrum, J.

Practice Area: Expert Testimony – Daubert Test

Larry Smith was convicted by a jury of two counts of repeated sexual assault of a child and one count of second-degree sexual assault of a child. Smith argues that the court erred in permitting expert testimony by a social worker that did not meet the reliability standards established by Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel when his counsel elicited statements at trial that the victim was truthful. We affirm. The court properly considered other indicia of reliability in permitting expert testimony from a social worker who had extensive experience with child sexual assault victims and the behaviors exhibited by such victims. We also find that Smith’s counsel was not ineffective in pursuing a trial strategy aimed at impeaching an investigator who believed she could “read people’s minds.”

Affirmed.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.