NCJ Number
107917
Journal
Journal of Family Law Volume: 25 Issue: 2 Dated: (1986-87) Pages: 373-396
Date Published
1986
Length
24 pages
Annotation
A review of different States' positions regarding the admissibility of expert testimony on the battered woman syndrome shows a trend in the direction of admissibility.
Abstract
However, judicial opinions are rationalized differently among jurisdictions holding the expert testimony to be unconditionally admissible as well as among those holding for conditional admissibility. The seven States that unconditionally admit expert testimony are Georgia, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington. They have generally found that the expert was qualified, that the testimony was relevant to the jury's evaluation of the reasonableness of the defendant's perceptions and behavior at the time of the homicide, that the defendant established her identity as a battered woman, and the State's standard of admissibility was fully satisfied. Conditional admissibility has been approved in the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, North Dakota, and South Carolina. These States have usually conditioned admissibility on remand to the trial court upon a finding that the expert has sufficient skills, knowledge, or experience in the field and/or a finding that the state of the art would support an expert opinion. Louisiana, Ohio, Texas, and Wyoming have held that expert testimony on the syndrome is inadmissible, for a variety of reasons. However, most States are applying the principles of materiality and relevance and then Federal or State tests. 164 footnotes.