California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from The People v. Brown, D056113, No. FVI700087 (Cal. App. 2010):
The trial court has broad discretion in admitting expert testimony and making evidentiary decisions, particularly in determining the relevance of proposed evidence. (People v. Prince (2007) 40 Cal.4th 1179, 1222; People v. Scheid (1997) 16 Cal.4th 1, 14.) Under Evidence Code section 801, subdivision (a), the pertinent question is whether, even if jurors have some knowledge of the subject matter, expert testimony
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would assist the jury. (People v. Prince, at p. 1222.) We review the trial court's evidentiary rulings under the abuse of discretion standard. (People v. Barnett (1998) 17 Cal.4th 1044, 1118.) Expert testimony is admissible even though it encompasses the ultimate issue in a case. (Evid. Code, 805.)
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