Jury instructions regarding expert witnesses in Alaska are outlined in Alaska’s Civil Pattern Jury Instructions, § 1.08. ALASKA CIVIL PATTERN JURY INSTR. § 1.08 (2013). This rule explains to the jury that expert witnesses have a special expertise that the jury may find helpful in understanding the case and/or other testimony. Id. The jury is instructed to determine how much weight it should give to an expert witness. Id. When deciding how much weight to give to an expert, the jury should consider the expert’s qualifications, “knowledge of the subject matter involved in the case; the source of the information considered by the expert; and the reasons given for the expert’s opinion.” Id. The jury is instructed that it can believe any or all of the testimony presented by an expert, and the jury is not required to believe an expert just because that expert’s testimony is not contradicted by another witness’s testimony. Id.
