Court Opinion

ID: 9640013
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 16:55:27.913313+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:25.225077
License: Public Domain

STEPHENS, Chief Justice,
dissenting.
Respectfully, I dissent.
The majority maintains that Dr. Noonan’s testimony regarding the appellant’s criminal intent on cross-examination was properly admitted under Kentucky Rule of Evidence 702. I cannot agree. While it is proper to allow expert witnesses to state their opinions concerning the sanity or insanity of criminal defendants, this is not what occurred here. The testimony in question concerns a question of specific intent at a particular time rather than general opinion evidence of a mental condition. The witness was asked whether, in his opinion, the appellant was acting intentionally in shooting the victim, and he replied “yes.” This line of questioning goes beyond the limits of what must be accepted as competent evidence admissible at trial. See Koester v. Commonwealth, Ky., 449 S.W.2d 213 (1970).
The majority is correct when it states that any evidence regarding the issue of intent at the time of the shooting is relevant; however, what was elicited from the witness was not evidence of intent but rather a factual conclusion of the witness. It is within the province of the jury to reach a conclusion as to the ultimate issue in this case, whether the appellant acted intentionally in shooting the victim. It is not proper to allow an expert to testify as to the conclusion he himself has reached based upon the evidence.
RCr 10.26 allows this Court to review this unpreserved error since manifest injustice has resulted. The appellant’s substantial rights have been affected as shown by the fact that the inadmissible testimony offered evidence on the ultimate issue to be addressed by the jury. With this inadmissible evidence, the jury found the appellant guilty of intentional murder. As a result, the Court of Appeals should be reversed.
For the foregoing reasons, I dissent.
LEIBSON and STUMBO, JJ., join this dissenting opinion.