Opinion ID: 2457072
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Expert Qualification of the Medical Examiner

Text: Dr. Case, the chief medical examiner for St. Charles County, performed the autopsy on Ms. Knese and was called by the State in Mr. Knese's trial. Mr. Knese argues that Dr. Case was erroneously allowed to give opinions on two matters. In her autopsy report, Dr. Case found that Ms. Knese was the victim of a probable sexual assault. Dr. Case testified that she based this finding on several factors, including the fact that Ms. Knese was strangled by an assailant at close range, the condition of her clothes, and the position of her body. Mr. Knese objected to Dr. Case's testimony regarding that opinion on the ground that this was not a medical conclusion and that Dr. Case was not, therefore, qualified to render an opinion on this point. Because expert testimony is always fraught with questions of relevancy and competency, the decision to admit expert conclusions is a matter of trial court discretion that will not be overturned on appeal absent an abuse of discretion. [16] While Mr. Knese's point might have some merit if Dr. Case was solely qualified as a general medical expert, this argument ignores the fact that Mr. Knese stipulated that Dr. Case was an expert in forensic pathology. As Dr. Case described, forensic pathology is a subspecialty of pathology dealing specifically with the work of medical examiners, in particular determining the cause of death (the immediate physical condition that precipitated death) and the manner of death (the circumstances under which the death occurred). Given that the opinion that the death was probably related to a sexual assault is precisely within the area of expertise described by the witness, an area of expertise to which Mr. Knese conceded, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing Dr. Case to describe her autopsy finding that Karin Knese appeared to have been killed incident to a sexual assault. Even if this testimony had been erroneously admitted, no prejudice would have occurred, since the testimony only suggested in conditional and probabilistic terms what Mr. Knese himself directly confirmed: that he was attempting to sexually assault Ms. Knese at the time of the killing. Mr. Knese also contends that Dr. Case should not have been allowed to testify as to the stimulant effects cocaine generally causes in its users. This point was not preserved in the motion for new trial and, therefore, reviewed for plain error only. While it is difficult to determine precisely what relevance this general testimony had to the specific case at hand, it is also difficult to determine how Mr. Knese's defense might have been prejudiced by Dr. Case's opinion that cocaine use may cause increased strength and stamina in its users. Mr. Knese does not explain how he was prejudiced, and there is no suggestion in the record of any prejudice that would rise to the level of manifest injustice.