Court Opinion

ID: 9671994
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 03:46:48.975316+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:13.617371
License: Public Domain

WINTERSHEIMER, Justice,
dissenting.
I must respectfully dissent from the majority opinion because I do not believe the admission of psychiatric evidence of the “child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome” amounted to reversible error. It is not necessary for this Court to reach that question in deciding this case. The victim’s mother was an eye-witness to the act involved and both of the victim’s brothers testified to prior incidents. The expert testimony did not materially contribute to the verdict. Considering the case as a whole I do not believe there is a substantial possibility that the result would have been any different even if the testimony was admitted. See Abernathy v. Commonwealth, Ky., 439 S.W.2d 949 (1969); RCr 9.24.
*143Although I do not wish to second guess the prosecution, the introduction of expert testimony in this type of situation may have been unnecessary. There is an unfortunate tendency by both prosecution and defense to overuse experts. I believe that juries are fully capable of deciding questions of fact and weighing the credibility of witnesses without the intervention of psychological experts. Here the defense challenges only the weight of the evidence by alleging error in the admission of the expert testimony.
I would affirm the conviction.