Court Opinion

ID: 9642884
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 18:11:31.547416+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:53.853323
License: Public Domain

LEIBSON, Justice,
dissenting.
Respectfully, I dissent. Ford was substantially prejudiced by the state serologist’s testimony in this case. Speaking as an “expert,” the serologist stated his opinion that skin specimens found at the crime scene matched abrasions on Ford’s hand and likely came from Ford. It was reversible error to permit such testimony regarding an ultimate conclusion only the jury could reach.
In O’Connor & Raque Co. v. Bill, Ky., 474 S.W.2d 344, 347 (1971), we note that “an expert may be of great assistance to the jury in providing information without expressing an opinion on the ultimate factual issue involved in the litigation.” We held inadmissible the testimony of an architect that the condition of a doorway was unsafe, because to permit such testimony “would be to allow the witness to take the place of the jury.” Id. That principle was violated in the present situation.
The present case is analogous to cases where police officers have been limited in their testimony to describing skid marks and debris because they were not qualified to express a conclusion as to the point of impact of two vehicles. Cf. Alexander v. Swearer, Ky., 642 S.W.2d 896 (1982) and Southwood v. Harrison, Ky.App., 638 S.W.2d 706 (1982). Expert testimony is *311properly limited by the extent of the expertise.
So, likewise, in this case the serologist could testify to the underlying facts that skin specimens were removed from a hole in the plasterboard wall and as to his measurements of these specimens against the abrasions observed on Ford’s hand. But he should not have been allowed to state his conclusion that the skin likely came from Ford. His conclusions were poorly conceived, beyond his limited expertise, and directed at ultimate facts that were for the jury to decide. Nevertheless, they had the potential for being very damaging evidence in the eyes of the jury. I would reverse.