Opinion ID: 1720797
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Medical Examiner's Opinion

Text: The prosecutor called Dr. Charles Kokes, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on the victim, to testify. The trial court as well as defense counsel accepted him as an expert in the field of forensic pathology. During Dr. Kokes's testimony, defense counsel made a motion in limine requesting that the witness be barred from testifying that Ogretta MacKintrush's death was caused by strangulation. Defense counsel argued that while the witness could testify that the manner of death was asphyxiation, he should not be allowed to testify about the ultimate cause of death, because he was not an expert in reconstruction. The trial court allowed the testimony but instructed the prosecutor to keep it within the bounds of the witness's field of expertise. The trial court also allowed Dr. Kokes to testify about cause of death. Under Rule 702 of the Arkansas Rules of Evidence, a witness qualified as an expert may give his or her opinion based on scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge to assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue. Here, Dr. Kokes based his opinion on his observation of the presence of petechial hemorrhages on the surfaces of the eyes and in the surfaces of the eyelids and the presence of hemorrhages in the criciod thyroid muscle and behind both horns of the thyroid. He went on to state that these particular types of hemorrhages are caused by pressure that is applied from outside the neck. He also stated that some of the external injuries were indicative of a struggle. Finally, he testified that in his opinion the cause of Ogretta MacKintrush's death was strangulation. This type of testimony was clearly proper under Rule 702, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing it. See Suggs v. State, 322 Ark. 40, 907 S.W.2d 124 (1995). There was no reversible error on this point.