Opinion ID: 1201769
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Trial court determination of competence

Text: Except as provided by statute, every person, irrespective of age, is qualified to be a witness. (Evid. Code, ง 700; see also Pen. Code, ง 1321.) The primary statutory grounds for disqualification are inability to express oneself comprehensibly on the subject of the testimony and inability to understand the obligation to tell the truth. (Evid. Code, ง 701.) (21) A party who claims that a witness lacks either or both of these basic qualifications bears the burden at trial of proving disqualification. ( People v. Mincey, supra, 2 Cal.4th 408, 444.) Moreover, to preserve for appeal a claim that a witness lacked testimonial competence, a party must object on this ground in the trial court. ( People v. Singh (1920) 182 Cal. 457, 484 [188 P. 987]; People v. Scaggs (1957) 153 Cal. App.2d 339, 353-354 [314 P.2d 793].) Defendant may not circumvent this objection requirement by claiming that the trial court should have inquired into the witness's qualifications on its own. [6]