Court Opinion

ID: 9690514
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 19:19:10.881023+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:58.584973
License: Public Domain

JOHNSTONE, Justice,
concurring.
I concur in the majority opinion in all respects, but write separately to dispute the dissent’s misguided assertion that “the majority takes a tremendous step backwards with its holding today and permits prejudice and inference to convict a man where logic and objectivity would not.” That is simply untrue.
The contentious issue confronted by the Court in this case is whether a lay witness may express an opinion as to the race of a person from an overheard voice. Despite any inferences to the contrary, other courts have previously addressed this issue and allowed such lay witness opinion testimony. The majority opinion cites cases in which lay witnesses have been allowed to identify voices as sounding like white, as well as black, persons.
The adoption of KRE 701 in this Commonwealth signaled this Court’s intention to follow the modern trend clearly favoring the admission of such lay opinion evidence. KRE 701 reflects the philosophy of this Court, and most courts in this country, to view KRE 701 as more inclusionary than exclusionary when the lay witness’s opinion is rationally based on the perception of the witness and is helpful to the jury or trial court for a clear understanding of the witness’s testimony or the determination of a factual issue.
Moreover, the guidelines set out in KRE 401 and KRE 403 regarding relevance and whether the probative value of relevant evidence is outweighed by its prejudicial effect are decisions for the trial court. Those decisions will not be disturbed in the absence of an abuse of discretion. Partin v. Commonwealth, Ky., 918 S.W.2d 219, 222 (1996). .
Sadly, the dissent has spun this eviden-tiary issue into a needless racial diatribe. It is my opinion that as we approach the next millennium, the majority opinion perpetuates the time-honored deference to the discretion of trial judges in this Commonwealth and allows additional valuable evidence to be considered by the diverse group of jurors that serve so diligently in the Kentucky Court of Justice.
GRAVES and KELLER, JJ., join this concurring opinion.