BETTY ANN CHRISTIANSEN, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The appellate court affirmed a first-degree murder conviction, holding that the trial court did not err in allowing hypothetical questions to expert witnesses or in its cross-examination of the defendant regarding a life insurance policy. The court found any potential error in the hypothetical questions to be harmless.
No, the trial court did not err. Hypothetical questions need not be exact reproductions of the evidence, and any potential error in the questions posed was harmless. Furthermore, the cross-examination regarding the life insurance policy was permissible because the defendant was aware of its existence.
[1] Hypothetical questions posed to expert witnesses need not be an exact reproduction of the evidence and may be based on any reasonable theory of the evidence.
[2] A defendant who fails to offer an amendment to a hypothetical question or propose their own, but merely objects, cannot later claim error if the question was permissible.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“It is well settled that hypothetical questions need not be an exact reproduction of the evidence and counsel may pose hypothetical questions upon any reasonable theory as to the effect of the evidence.”
This quote establishes the legal standard for hypothetical questions posed to expert witnesses.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal, the defendant argued that the trial court erred by o…
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Defendant-appellant was indicted for murder in the first degree, tried by jury, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
On appeal, one of appellant’s contentions is that the trial court erred in overruling defendant’s objections to hypothetical questions posed to the state’s expert witnesses on the grounds that these questions did not reflect all the facts in evidence.
It is well settled that hypothetical questions need not be an exact reproduction of the evidence and counsel may pose hypothetical questions upon any reasonable theory as to the effect of the evidence. Should the jury find such evidence is not proved, the questions and answers must simply be disregarded. Zerega v. State, Fla.1972, 260 So.2d 1; Baker v. State, 30 Fla. 41, 11 So. 492 (1892); and Williams v. State, 45 Fla. 128, 34 So. 279 (1903). Further, we noted that appellant neither offered an amendment to the hypothetical questions tendered by the prosecution nor did she offer one of her own, but merely objected to them. Therefore, we hold that if there was error, it was harmless error.
Appellant additionally contends that the trial court erred in overruling defendant’s objections to the state’s cross-examination of the defendant on the existence vel non of a life insurance policy.
*42In support of this argument defense counsel relies primarily on the case of People v. Gougas, 410 Ill. 235, 102 N.E.2d 152 (1951), wherein the Illinois Supreme Court held that the victim’s life insurance policy, which named the accused as beneficiary, was improperly admitted into evidence in absence of a showing that the accused knew of the existence of the policy. This case, however, is clearly distinguishable from the case sub judice as the record on appeal reflects the testimony of the defendant to the effect that she knew of the existence of the insurance policy, believed it had lapsed, but thought the victim had reinstated it. Thus, we find no error.
We also considered appellant’s remaining point on appeal and found that to be without merit.
Accordingly, the judgment appealed is affirmed.
Affirmed.
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Santos Wrestling Enters., Inc. v. Perez, 367 So. 2d 685 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)…case, the record shows that the hypothetical question which would have formed the basis of appellants’ expert witness’s opinion comported with the evidence and tracked the criteria for the basis of such an opinion. See, e. g., Christiansen v. State, 280 So. 2d 41 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973); and Steiger v. Massachusetts Casualty Insurance Co., 273 So. 2d 4 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973). Alternatively, appellants offered their expert witness’s opinion based upon his independent review of the evidence. The record also shows that…
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Smith v. State, 343 So. 2d 598 (Fla. 1977)…aring, I voted to accept jurisdiction because the decision of the District Court of Appeal, Fourth District, in this case conflicted with Zerega v. State, 260 So. 2d 1 (Fla.1972); Baker v. State, 30 Fla. 41, 11 So. 492 (1893); Christiansen v. State, 280 So. 2d 41 (Fla.3d DCA 1973); Blocker v. State, 92 Fla. 878, 110 So. 547 (1926). These cases hold that if the predicate to expert testimony is not proved the testimony must be disregarded. I continue to believe there is conflict between these cases and the res…
Authorities Cited
- Williams v. State, 45 Fla. 128 (Fla. 1903)
- Abner G. Baker v. State, 30 Fla. 41 (Fla. 1892)
- Zerega v. State, 260 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1972)