Opinion ID: 2509517
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Admissibility of the testimony under Evidence Code sections 702 and 801.

Text: Defendant contends that the admission of Dr. Chris Hatcher's testimony concerning the experiences of child victims violates Evidence Code section 702, which provides that the testimony of a witness is inadmissible unless based on personal knowledge. Dr. Hatcher, however, was testifying as an expert witness pursuant to Evidence Code section 801, and Evidence Code section 702 by its terms does not apply to such testimony. Defendant, however, points out that Evidence Code section 801 only permits expert testimony on a subject that is sufficiently beyond common experience that the opinion of an expert would assist the trier of fact. He argues that the experiences of child victims of violent sexual assaults are not sufficiently beyond common experience that expert assistance is required. We disagree. Only a fraction of the general population, and presumably none of the jurors, has been personally victimized. Of course a juror can try to imagine what it would be like for a child to experience such an assault, but this kind of imagining does not substitute for expert testimony.