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State v. Larson12/7/2004
Issues concerning the admissibility of evidence are within the discretion of the district court. Cottrell v. Burlington Northern R. Co. (1993), 261 Mont. 296, 301, 863 P.2d 381, 384. "The trial court is vested with great latitude in ruling on the admissibility of expert testimony." Cash v. Otis Elevator Co. (1984), 210 Mont. 319, 332, 684 P.2d 1041, 1048. A district court has broad discretion to determine whether evidence is relevant and admissible, and absent an abuse of discretion, this Court will not overturn that court's ruling. State v. Hamilton , 2002 MT 263, 10, 312 Mont. 249, 10, 59 P.3d 387, 10. The test for abuse of discretion is whether the trial court acted arbitrarily without employment of conscientious judgment or exceeded the bounds of reason resulting in substantial injustice. State v. Brasda , 2003 MT 374, 14, 319 Mont. 146, 14, 82 P.3d 922, 14.
We conclude the District Court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted testimony by the State's expert witness regarding Larson's blood alcohol. The District Court correctly recognized the distinction between "elimination phase" testimony and "retrograde extrapolation" testimony, admitting the former and prohibiting the latter. Retrograde extrapolation is a method of estimating a person's blood alcohol level at a specified time by using the person's known blood alcohol content at a later time. Kurtz did not assign a definitive number to Larson's blood alcohol at the time of the accident, but instead stated his opinion Larson would have reached the peak alcohol phase earlier in the evening and been in the elimination phase at the time of the blood draw. Furthermore, the results of the blood test, which indicated Larson's blood alcohol was at 0.12%, when considered in combination with Kurtz's foundational testimony that an individual's blood alcohol usually peaks within a half hour to an hour and a half following consumption, tended to make it more probable Larson was in the elimination phase at the time the blood test was taken. Although this necessarily assumes his alcohol levels were higher before the time the test was conducted, Kurtz did not engage in retrograde extrapolation. That is, Kurtz did not give an opinion as to Larson's blood alcohol level at the time of the accident. By failing to engage in retrograde extrapolation, Kurtz did not violate state crime lab policy. Accordingly, we hold the District Court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted Kurtz's testimony regarding Larson's blood alcohol.
ISSUE TWO
Whether the District Court erred by granting the State's motion in limine to exclude evidence of the deceased victim's blood alcohol concentration.
Larson argues the District Court erred when it prohibited Larson from presenting evidence of Clare's blood alcohol at trial. Larson maintains evidence comparing Clare's blood alcohol at the time of the accident with Larson's two hours after the crash would have supported prospective testimony about the drinking activities on the evening of the accident as well as countered the State's expert witness testimony regarding Larson's alleged impairment.
The State counters Clare's blood alcohol concentration level was not relevant or probative of Larson's blood alcohol or the extent of Larson's impairment at the time of the accident. The State maintains testimony at trial did not suggest Larson and Clare consumed alcohol in exactly the same amounts and times nor did it show similarities between the men's body weight, stomach contents, and elimination rate.
The authority to grant or deny a motion in limine "rests in the inherent power of the court to admit or exclude evidence and to take such precautions as are
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