Opinion ID: 2070627
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Testimony by the State Medical Examiner

Text: In reviewing a trial justice's decision on the admissibility of expert testimony, this Court will not reverse the decision unless the trial justice abused his or her discretion. State v. Morales, 621 A.2d 1247, 1249 (R.I.1993) (citing Gaglione v. Cardi, 120 R.I. 534, 538, 388 A.2d 361, 363 (1978)). The degree of conclusiveness which characterizes the testimony of a witness, properly qualified to give his [or her] opinion as an expert, goes only to the weight and not the admissibility of the evidence. State v. Vargus, 118 R.I. 113, 127, 373 A.2d 150, 157 (1977). We have therefore held that the jury is always free to accept, to reject, or to accord any amount of weight it chooses to the expert's testimony. Id. In the present trial, defendant sought to limit the testimony of Elizabeth Laposata, M.D., Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Rhode Island (Dr. Laposata), in respect to the deformed bullet that remained in Chatelle's leg, arguing that Dr. Laposata's expertise was in pathology, not ballistics. Previously, two other expert witnesses had testified that the bullet could not have been deformed by striking Chatelle's femur without shattering the bone, a conclusion that supported defendant's theory that Chatelle was holding an object at the time of the shooting. In contrast, after reviewing medical reports, photographs of the wounds, x-rays of the injury and the bullet, the ballistics report, and the report by defendant's expert witness, Dr. Laposata testified that it was not uncommon for a bullet to hit bone and ricochet without damaging it and that without looking at the bone, it would be impossible to determine conclusively how the bullet had become deformed. The admission of expert testimony is governed by Rule 702 of the Rhode Island Rules of Evidence, which states: Testimony by experts.  If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of fact or opinion. In respect to her qualification, Dr. Laposata testified that she was trained in forensic pathology and, in her capacity as medical examiner, had determined the cause of death and injury of hundreds of persons killed by firearms. To that end, she would examine the body, remove the bullet, examine it, and establish the trajectory. In Morales, 621 A.2d at 1249, we held that a forensic pathologist was qualified to render an opinion on the distance from which the defendant fired a gun, given that the witness had attended firearms seminars on the subject and had on prior occasions examined gunshot wounds. Therefore, we conclude here that the trial justice correctly found that Dr. Laposata's experience with bullet wounds qualified her to render an opinion to the jury on how the bullet became deformed. Defense counsel was afforded an opportunity to cross-examine the witness, and the jury could properly determine the weight to be accorded this evidence.