Court Opinion

ID: 9582579
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:28:59.467604+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:37:59.692650
License: Public Domain

Beasley, Judge,
concurring specially.
I concur in the conclusion that there was error and in the further conclusion that it was harmless under the circumstances. However, I do not fully concur in the characterization which is given to the questions which defendant contends he should have been permitted to ask the State’s witness on cross-examination.
With respect to her potential sentence for robbery, defendant sought to elicit the witness’ understanding of what she faced if she was convicted of robbery instead of cooperating with the State and pleading guilty to misdemeanor theft by taking (OCGA §§ 16-8-2; 16-8-12) in exchange for a probated 12-month sentence. Defendant’s purpose was to show that the witness was biased by self-interest, to the degree of wanting to avoid the risk of a 20-year sentence (OCGA § 16-8-40 (c)). Obviously, her understanding of what she faced, whether she was correct or incorrect as to the legal maximum punishment for robbery, was relevant.
Defense counsel’s initial question was, “What was the maximum that you were — you were indicted for robbery?” That was legally objectionable because it called for a legal fact (the maximum penalty provided by OCGA § 16-8-40 (c)), although the answer, right or wrong, would have shown what she believed the maximum was. After some colloquy, counsel inquired of the court, “May I ask the witness what she thought the maximum sentence for robbery was?” That did not call for a legal fact, much less a legal opinion, but only for her understanding of what she faced. That was relevant to the degree of her bias, as it would show how high she thought the stakes were. Its *459exclusion was an abuse of discretion. See Fletcher v. State, 197 Ga. App. 112 (1) (397 SE2d 605) (1990), for the rule.
Decided October 9, 1991.
Omotayo Alii, for appellant.
Lewis R. Slaton, District Attorney, Joseph J. Drolet, Nancy A. Grace, Carl P. Greenberg, Assistant District Attorneys, for appellee.
We are not, in either event, dealing with a legal opinion. Opinion testimony is “[e]vidence of what the witness thinks, believes, or infers in regard to facts in dispute, as distinguished from his personal knowledge of the facts themselves.” Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th ed. A legal opinion “relates to the legal consequences of a given set of facts. . . .” Grude v. State, 189 Ga. App. 901, 903 (2) (377 SE2d 731) (1989). Only a witness who is qualified as a legal expert would be permitted by the rules of evidence to give a legal opinion. See Grude for an example of a lay legal opinion, which is inadmissible.
One of the reasons the error was harmless is that the witness admitted on cross-examination that she had previously been convicted of the felony of burglary, so the jury was aware that she knew the serious consequences of a felony conviction.