Court Opinion

ID: 9584094
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:44:33.74052+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:06:41.354601
License: Public Domain

Clarke, Justice,
dissenting.
I cannot agree with the holding of the majority that expert opinion is inadmissible to prove the mental and emotional state of a defendant when he gave a confession. In my view this evidence simply goes to the weight of the confession and is not evidence of the ultimate fact to be proven. In fact there are many cases in which a defendant is convicted when a confession has been excluded or discredited. Therefore, evidence questioning a confession is not determination of the ultimate fact. Even if the mental and emotional state of the defendant were the ultimate fact, I do not think expert opinion on the subject would be inadmissible.
In condemnation cases, we admit opinion evidence of value, which is the ultimate fact. It is allowed even though it is not beyond *388the ken of the average person. This is illustrated by the allowing of non-expert testimony as to value if there is a showing that the lay witness has facts upon which an opinion can be formed. We allow, and in fact require, opinion evidence in order to sustain or defend a medical or legal malpractice case. We admit expert testimony as to landlines when they are the ultimate fact in a case. We admit opinion testimony as to defenses of insanity in criminal cases. Experts give opinions on the question of percentage of disability, and expert opinions are admitted as to speed of vehicles even when based on physical conditions at a scene and not observation of the vehicle.
In dealing with the weight to be given to evidence, as we are in this case, it is common to call upon expert testimony. Handwriting experts frequently testify as to the validity of a signature or identity of handwriting, thus aiding the jury in determining the weight given to documentary evidence. A common example of non-expert opinion evidence is evidence of impeachment. This is closely analogous to the question before the court here. When a witness testifies that he would not believe another witness under oath, he is assisting the jury in its task of determining the credibility of certain evidence. I fail to see why the jury in a criminal case should not have the same sort of assistance from a qualified expert in order to determine the weight to be given to a confession made by a troubled individual.
For these reasons, I dissent. I am authorized to state that Presiding Justice Hill joins in this dissent.