When will an expert not give an opinion whether a witness is telling the truth?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Duke, B264579 (Cal. App. 2017):

"The general rule is that an expert may not give an opinion whether a witness is telling the truth, for the determination of credibility is not a subject sufficiently beyond common experience that the expert's opinion would assist the trier of fact; in other words, the jury generally is as well equipped as the expert to discern whether a witness is being truthful." (People v. Coffman and Marlow (2004) 34 Cal.4th 1, 82.)

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