Opinion ID: 2087597
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Admitting Testimony on an Issue of Law

Text: Butler alleges finally that the post-conviction court erroneously received opinion testimony from Mark Kopinski, a deputy prosecutor for St. Joseph County. Butler claims Kopinski's testimony about the class A status of his second offense was improper because it pertained to an issue of law. Admitting opinion testimony on an issue of law is improper. See Marks v. Gaskill (1991), Ind., 563 N.E.2d 1284 (admission of officer's testimony that one was at fault was error); Ind.Evid.Rule 704(b). When prejudice does not result, however, the error is harmless. Daniel v. State (1991), Ind., 582 N.E.2d 364. There is no error, of course, where the testimony refers only to issues of fact. Here, the post-conviction court considered a wide range of evidence to determine the status of Butler's offense. It looked to the citations themselves, the relevant statutes, Butler's testimony (and more) to discover the correct classification. The court did question Kopinski directly on the procedures involved. The court's findings of fact and conclusions of law reveal that Kopinski's testimony was informative about the procedures followed by St. Joseph County courts and about the meaning of handwritten notes in the chronological case summary. This testimony was entirely factual. The post-conviction court did not rely in any substantial way on Kopinski's testimony, focusing instead on the text of Butler's citation for the offense. [16] We cannot conclude that the post-conviction court's handling of this evidence was erroneous.