State v. Thomas

Summarized by:

  • Court: Oregon Court of Appeals
  • Area(s) of Law: Evidence
  • Date Filed: 06-22-2016
  • Case #: A156080
  • Judge(s)/Court Below: DeVore, J. for the Court; Duncan, P. J., and Flynn, J.

OEC 703 does not permit the admission of inadmissible evidence just because it is offered through an expert witness's testimony.

Defendant appealed his conviction of sodomy in the first degree and sexual abuse in the first degree. Defendant first assigned error to the trial court limiting a psychology professor's testimony about studies measuring children’s memory of traumatic events and the creation of false memories. The trial court excluded the testimony as hearsay because the studies were not used to add to an actual opinion the expert had about the case. OEC 703 does not permit experts to simply be a vehicle for hearsay evidence. The Court upheld the trial court's decision because the studies would not have helped explain the expert's opinion. Affirmed.

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