Opinion ID: 2049757
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Dr. MacMahon's statement of opinion

Text: The defendant contends Dr. MacMahon should not have been allowed to express his opinion that the ragged edges of Christina's hymen and the enlarged opening of the introitus were consistent with tearing causing bleeding and with past sexual activity. The defendant reasons that since Christina's medical condition was no less consistent with sexual inactivity as with attempted or actual penetration of the vagina, it did not assist the trier of fact in determining the crucial issue in the case and was thus not admissible under Maine Rule of Evidence 702. [11] We disagree. It is well-established that an expert need not be able to state his opinion with any special degree of certainty. The degree of certainty goes to the weight and not the admissibility of the evidence. See, e.g., State v. Woodbury, 403 A.2d 1166, 1170 (Me.1979); State v. Mitchell, 390 A.2d 495, 501 (Me.1978). We perceive no abuse of discretion in the presiding justice's determination that the opinion testimony of Dr. MacMahon could be helpful to the jury.