Opinion ID: 2624500
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Lay Opinion of Former Prosecutor

Text: (26) Defendant next renews the objection at the penalty retrial to the introduction of the opinion of former prosecutor Frank Sexton. Sexton testified that Terry was heartbroken and overwhelmed at the murder of his wife, that the murder haunted Terry for the rest of his life and it was finally the end of him. Defendant argues this was not proper lay witness opinion, in that it lacked a proper foundation. We disagree. The opinion of a lay witness is admissible if it is rationally based on the witness's perception. (Evid. Code, § 800, subd. (a).) Sexton told the jury he had kept in contact with Terry all through the court proceedings [of the capital trial] ... and ... in the years following the case and up until his death. The trial court reasonably could infer that in those years of contacts, Sexton observed Terry's mood and demeanor, and that the opinion to which he testified was based thereon. In any event, any such error was harmless, because there was ample other evidence admitted establishing the impact of Eleanore's murder on her husband.