Court Opinion

ID: 9743630
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 21:39:02.707007+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:24:50.543585
License: Public Domain

PRENTICE, Justice,
concurring in result.
I am unable to join the majority opinion upon Issue V.
As characterized by the majority, Officer Croft related his opinion that Defendant possessed the contraband recovered for purposes of selling or delivering it. From his entire testimony, I conclude that he was testifying hypothetically. Croft was asked, “ * * *, do you have an opinion as to whether or not these drugs were sold or were possessed solely for personal possession or whether they were possessed for delivery or sale?”, whereupon Defendant’s objection was argued and overruled. Croft then testified as follows:
“Q. In your opinion were these, was this amount of drugs possessed for personal use or for delivery to others?
“A. It was possessed for sale.
“Q. I also direct you to State’s Exhibits # 4, which has previously been identified as drugs containing amobarbital and seco-barbital, based upon your experience would this amount of drugs be possessed for personal use or for delivery to others?
“A. For sale, for delivery.
“Q. State’s Exhibit # 5 and State’s Exhibit # 15, based upon the amount, these have previously been described as valium tablets containing diazpam, based upon your experience and knowledge would this amount of drugs be held for personal use or for delivery or sale?
“A. Delivery and sale on those.”
I do not comprehend the State’s questions, as a whole, as inviting the Officer’s opinion about whether Defendant entertained the requisite intent to sell, an ultimate fact in this case, although the first question could be so interpreted. Prior to his giving the testimony at issue, the State attempted to qualify Croft as an expert on the investigation of narcotics cases and, in so doing, disclosed the extent of his training and knowledge about controlled substances, particularly cocaine. Having educated the jury as to his expertise, the State then sought to convey an “expert’s” opinion upon whether, in general, one would possess a quantity of contraband, such as that recovered, for sale. See Thompson v. State, (1980) Ind.App., 400 N.E.2d 1151, 1153.
If the record revealed what the majority claims it reveals, it would show a clear abuse of discretion. In Simpson v. State, (1978) 269 Ind. 495, 502, 381 N.E.2d 1229, 1233, we stated:
“It appears from the record that the psychologist in question would have testified that appellant lacked the requisite intent because of his great fear of Ben Rodriguez. The question of a person’s intent at the time of the commission of a crime, not related to an issue of insanity, is a question of fact for the jury and not a proper subject of expertise. The psychologist’s testimony in this regard would have been nothing more than hearsay and was not necessary as an aid for the jury’s determination of the issue of the presence or absence of criminal intent.”
The State devotes a considerable portion of its argument to convincing us that Croft was qualified as an expert; however, it does not treat the issue of whether an expert’s testimony was necessary in order to arrive at the opinion that Croft expressed. Even if qualified as an expert on narcotics investigations, Croft was no more capable than were the jurors themselves to infer Defendant’s intent to sell from the single circumstance of possession of a large quantity of contraband.
“As a general rule, the opinion of experts is not received ‘if all the facts can be ascertained and made intelligible to the jury, or if it is such as men in general are capable of comprehending and understanding.’ (citation omitted).” Keifer v. State, (1927) 199 Ind. 10, 14, 154 N.E. 870, 871.
To allow Croft to relate the opinion that the majority claims he related, would invade the province of the jury. See Reburn v. State, (1981) Ind., 421 N.E.2d 604, 606 (de*1108fense psychologist may not offer an opinion about whether the facts are consistent with an accidental shooting); Ashbaugh v. State, (1980) Ind., 400 N.E.2d 767, 773 (defense psychiatrists are not qualified to offer an opinion upon the issue of self defense); LeFlore v. State, (1972) 258 Ind. 458, 462, 281 N.E.2d 876, 878 (police officer, even if qualified as an expert, may not give an opinion about whether fingerprints are the best evidence that a person held an object); Green v. State, (1900) 154 Ind. 655, 57 N.E. 637, 640 (opinion about the quantity and quality of moonlight at the scene of a Murder is not a subject for expert testimony). See also Matter of Perrello, (1979) Ind., 386 N.E.2d 174, 179 (testimony by experts concerning what constitutes the practice of law held properly excluded as invading the province of the trier of fact).
The majority either overlooks or ignores the clear impact of the above cited cases by resorting to an oversimplified premise. These cases demonstrate that the old rule that a witness may not give an opinion upon an ultimate fact question has not been completely abrogated in Indiana. A witness still may not offer an opinion, expert or otherwise, upon an ultimate issue of fact, where the witness is in no better position than the jury to draw the inferences. That is to say that when the evidence, upon which the witness formed his opinion, is available to the jury, its position is equal of that of the witness and its opinion should be formed from the evidence free of the taint of the witness’ opinion.
In a case where an ultimate issue of fact is the defendant’s intent to achieve a specific unlawful result, such as the sale of a large quantity of narcotics in his possession, the circumstance of that possession does not change between the time the police officer recovers the narcotics and the time of the trial. The same cannot be said of the cases cited by the majority. The symptoms of intoxication usually disappear entirely before trial. Wofford v. State, (1979) Ind., 394 N.E.2d 100, 104. The bruises and injuries of an abused child may heal before trial. Ball v. State, (1980) Ind.App., 406 N.E.2d 305, 310. The jurors are not present during the interrogation of the Defendant; consequently, they cannot view his demean- or and other behavior reflecting upon the credibility of a confession for themselves. Porter v. State, (1979) Ind., 391 N.E.2d 801, 811. Likewise, they cannot view a defendant’s conduct and behavior at the time of the alleged criminal act as it may bear upon his plea of insanity. Washington v. State, (1979) Ind., 390 N.E.2d 983, 988; Bobbitt v. State, (1977) 266 Ind. 164, 170-71, 361 N.E.2d 1193, 1197. In sharp contrast, the jurors could weigh the fixed circumstance, in this case the quantity of narcotics recovered, and, without the aid of the opinions from others, arrive at a conclusion of their own as to Defendant’s intent to deliver or to sell.
The majority’s opinion upon this issue adds a mischievous and potent weapon to the State’s arsenal. The testimony of a police officer, qualified as an expert, will no doubt, be given great weight. Additionally, if an experienced narcotics investigator may opine, under oath, about a Defendant’s intent to sell narcotics, should we not also allow a member of the vice squad to testify that, in his opinion, an accused knew that something he possessed was obscene, or a member of the homicide squad to testify that, in his opinion, an accused intended to commit Murder? Our jurisprudence has wisely made the determination of such issues the exclusive province of the trier of fact. See Simpson v. State, supra.
Nevertheless, under the circumstances of this case, I cannot find reversible error in the trial court’s refusal to exclude Croft’s testimony. The record contains additional substantial evidence of an intent to sell and of a thriving business. The quantity of contraband seized was quite large. The police found a gun, a clip of ammunition, a sieve, and a grinder in the black satchel, which contained some of the recovered contraband. During the search of Defendant’s home the telephone rang numerous times. A police officer answered only three of the calls. During one call, the caller requested Defendant by name and inquired if Defendant had the “stuff”. At the police station, *1109while being booked, Defendant made a very inculpatory admission:
“A. After Detective Leezer asked him with the kind of job he had it was hard to believe he was into dealing drugs, he said, T started to get out of the coke business about a month ago.’ He said, T wish now that I had.’ ”
From this evidence I conclude that the admission of Croft’s testimony was error, but harmless. Consequently, I vote to affirm the judgment.