7.7Expert Testimony by Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs)

“A sexual assault nurse examiner is a registered nurse specially trained to provide care to sexual assault patients. The sexual assault nurse examiner conducts medical forensic examinations and can serve as an expert witness.” Sparrow Hospital, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program.

In People v McLaughlin, 258 Mich App 635, 657 (2003), the defendant claimed that the trial court erred by permitting a SANE to testify as an expert witness because the prosecution failed to designate her as an expert during pretrial discovery under MCR 6.201(A)(1). However, the Court of Appeals concluded that the SANE’s testimony did not rise to the level of that required of an expert so that any error in the SANE’s classification as an expert was harmless. McLaughlin, 258 Mich App at 658.

The Court noted that “MRE 701 permits lay witnesses to testify about opinions and inferences that are ‘(a) rationally based on the perception of the witness and (b) helpful to a clear understanding of the witness’ testimony or the determination of a fact in issue.’” McLaughlin, 258 Mich App at 657. The Court further found that the only statements in the SANE’s testimony that could be construed as “specialized knowledge” were her statements that the victim’s physical state and demeanor were consistent with that of a recent rape victim. Id. at 658. The Court concluded that these statements did not involve “highly specialized knowledge” and were “largely based on common sense.” Id. Accordingly, the defendant was “not entitled to a new trial on the basis of the prosecutor’s failure to designate [the SANE] as an expert witness.” Id. at 658-659.

“MRE 702 does not require that an expert be certified by the state in the particular area in which the expert is qualified. Rather, an expert may be qualified on the basis of ‘knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education . . . .’” People v Brown, 326 Mich App 185, 196 (2018), quoting MRE 702. Accordingly, a licensed nurse may give expert testimony even though the nurse has not yet received a SANE certification. See Brown, 326 Mich App at 196. In Brown, the Court stated: “With regard to [the nurse’s] testimony regarding the lack of injury in most sexual assault cases, this testimony was properly admitted because it was based on [the nurse’s] specialized knowledge and assisted the jury in understanding the evidence in this case.” Id. at 197.