State v. Bailey

Defendant assigns as error the trial court’s ruling allowing the State’s witness, Mrs. Deese, to testify that the defendant had his hand in his pocket and “it looked like he had a gun.” Defendant contends this was error in that it permitted the witness to testify to a conclusion. It is not unusual, however, that the customary speech patterns of a witness may be such that the only reasonable method for the particular witness to transmit his observations to the jury is by the statement of what may be technically considered a conclusion or opinion. Such shorthand statements of facts have been…