Opinion ID: 1577692
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 37

Heading: Murrie O'Brien

Text: Appellant argues that defense counsel was unduly limited in its examination of Murrie O'Brien, Horton's longtime carpenter and handyman. Defense counsel questioned O'Brien about the storm windows at Horton's home, although O'Brien had never worked on those specific windows. In an effort to demonstrate that Appellant did not have sufficient time to remove all the screws from Horton's storm windows, defense counsel asked O'Brien how long it generally takes you to remove screws from a large storm window if you're trying to remove them out? The trial court sustained the Commonwealth's objection. Defense counsel was also prohibited from asking O'Brien if there were any score marks on the screws found on Horton's front porch. Finally, defense counsel showed O'Brien the broken knife found on Appellant at the time of his arrest and asked whether he had ever tried to remove screws with such a knife. An objection to this question was also sustained. Rulings concerning the admissibility of evidence lie within the sound discretion of the trial court and are only overturned upon a showing of an abuse of that discretion. Simpson v. Commonwealth, 889 S.W.2d 781, 783 (Ky.1994). In each instance enumerated above, the trial court did not believe that O'Brien's testimony would assist the jury. Whether a screw has score marks, and how long it takes to remove a window screw, are topics well within the average juror's common knowledge and understanding. Furthermore, the jury was shown the screws and the window itself and, thus, had the opportunity to make such an assessment. Finally, O'Brien stated that he had never worked on that particular storm window and had never handled Appellant's knife. Accordingly, defense counsel's questions pertaining to the window and the knife were irrelevant. We see no abuse of discretion in the trial court's rulings with respect to this witness. [9]