Shannon v. Koehler - Northern District of Iowa
Shannon v. Koehler - Northern District of Iowa
Shannon v. Koehler - Northern District of Iowa
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Report (docket no. 99-2), although he does <strong>of</strong>fer opinions on whether <strong>Koehler</strong> complied<br />
with <strong>Iowa</strong> standards in his supplementary opinion, see Defendants’ Exhibit 3, Joseph J.<br />
Stine’s Supplementary Opinion at 1 (docket no. 99-4). It is unclear to me whether Stine’s<br />
experience qualifies him to testify to generally accepted standards or to <strong>Iowa</strong> standards.<br />
Therefore, I reserve ruling on whether he is qualified until trial. For the limited purposes<br />
<strong>of</strong> this order, I will assume that he is qualified, so that I may address the defendants’<br />
arguments that, even if Stine is qualified, his opinions should be excluded because they are<br />
unreliable and unhelpful to the jury.<br />
As to reliability, the defendants’ concerns about the factual basis <strong>of</strong> Stine’s<br />
testimony do not warrant the exclusion <strong>of</strong> Stine’s testimony as unreliable. “[T]he factual<br />
basis <strong>of</strong> an expert opinion goes to the credibility <strong>of</strong> the testimony, not the admissibility.”<br />
See Hose, 70 F.3d at 974 (citing Loudermill, 863 F.2d at 570). Stine indicates in his<br />
report that he reviewed the video <strong>of</strong> the incident, audiotaped statements by the witnesses,<br />
audio <strong>of</strong> dialogue at the scene, <strong>Koehler</strong>’s deposition for the criminal trial, and <strong>Shannon</strong>’s<br />
deposition, among other documents. See Defendants’ Exhibit 1, Joseph J. Stine’s Expert<br />
Opinion Report at 2 (docket no. 99-2). Cross-examination is the defendants’ opportunity<br />
to scrutinize and question the facts on which Stine based his opinion. See Hose, 70 F.3d<br />
at 974 (citing Loudermill, 863 F.2d at 570).<br />
The defendants also appear to question the reliability <strong>of</strong> the methods and standards<br />
that Stine used in formulating his opinion. Stine’s report mostly evaluates <strong>Koehler</strong>’s<br />
conduct under “generally accepted practices and procedures for a pr<strong>of</strong>essional police<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficer.” See Defendants’ Exhibit 1, Joseph J. Stine’s Expert Opinion Report at 8 (docket<br />
no. 99-2). His report does not clarify what standards he used to define “generally accepted<br />
practices and procedures.” Because there is insufficient information for me to decide<br />
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