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Arrow International2/12/2003
be based on experience in addition to knowledge and training. Further, Ark. R. Evid. 704 permits an expert to rely, as Dr. Allen did, on information provided by others in the formulation of his opinion. See Killian v. Hill, 32 Ark. App. 25, 795 S.W.2d 369 (1990).
If some reasonable basis exists demonstrating that a witness has knowledge of a subject beyond that of ordinary knowledge, the evidence is admissible as expert testimony. Brunson v. State, supra. There is a decided tendency to permit the fact-finder to hear the testimony of persons having superior knowledge in a given field, unless they are clearly lacking in training and experience. Killian v. Hill, supra. Dr. Allen's experience as an emergency room physician and his attendant knowledge of blood flow through small tubes gave him an insight into the subject beyond that of the ordinary person. The fact that Dr. Allen's testimony was not based on flow rates, viscosity, friction, or other scientific properties of blood flowing through a 1.6 mm opening, was a matter for the jury to consider in determining the weight to be accorded Dr. Allen's testimony. The questionability of the factual underpinning of an expert's opinion goes to the weight and credibility, rather than to the admissibility, of the opinion in evidence. See Killian v. Hill, supra.
Arrow's other argument on this point is that Dr. Allen's testimony did not meet the Daubert test of reliability. This test is derived from the landmark Supreme Court case of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, supra, in which the Supreme Court established an inquiry to be conducted by the trial court when faced with the admissibility of certain expert testimony. As our supreme court explained in Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. v. Foote, supra, in adopting Daubert, a trial judge must determine at the outset whether the expert is proposing to testify to (1) scientific knowledge that (2) will assist the trier of fact to understand or determine a fact in issue. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Foote, supra. This inquiry entails a preliminary assessment of whether the reasoning or methodology underlying the testimony is scientifically valid and whether that reasoning or methodology properly can be applied to the facts in issue. Id. A primary factor for a trial court to consider in determining the admissibility of scientific evidence is whether the scientific theory can be or has been tested. Wood v. State, 75 Ark. App. 22, 53 S.W.3d 56 (2001). Other factors include whether the theory has been subjected to peer review and publication, the potential error rate, and the existence and maintenance of standards controlling the technique's operation. It is also significant whether the scientific community has generally accepted the theory. Id.
This preliminary assessment of reliability is known as the trial court's gatekeeping function. See Wood v. State, supra. We observe that, in the more recent case of Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999), the Supreme Court clarified that the Daubert factors are not limited to scientific expert testimony but may be applied to testimony based on technical or other specialized knowledge.
Arrow argues that Dr. Allen's testimony did not meet the Daubert test because it was not based on testing or other scientific method but was merely "anecdotal" and that the trial court, by allowing Allen's testimony, failed to perform its gatekeeping function. However, we conclude that the Daubert inquiry, which seeks to determine the dependability of an expert's methods, is of little value in the present case. First of all, our court has stated that the Daubert factors are applicable to "novel" scientific evidence, theory, or methodology. See Regions Ba
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