Levetta Tunstall, Appellant (defendant) v. Dawn Manning, Appellee (plaintiff)

Summary

The Indiana Supreme Court held that evidence of an expert witness's professional-licensure status and the reasons for professional discipline may be admissible to impeach the expert's credibility, subject to statutory and evidentiary restrictions. The trial court abused its discretion by excluding evidence that the plaintiff's expert had previously been placed on license probation, but properly excluded evidence concerning the specific reasons for his discipline under the rules governing criminal convictions and specific acts of misconduct. The exclusion of the probation evidence was harmless because the expert's credibility was extensively challenged and substantial lay testimony supported the plaintiff's injury claim, so the court affirmed the verdict. Justice Slaughter, dissenting, would have found the error prejudicial and ordered a new damages trial.