State v. LeDuc

Judge Arnold

dissenting.

I dissent. While I believe the majority decision correctly interprets the holding of this court in State v. Simmons, supra, I believe Simmons is wrongly decided. The plain language of G.S. §8-40 does allow the jury to compare writings for genuineness, and I find nothing else in our rules of evidence to require that the j ury must be aided by expert testimony. Other j urisdictions, and apparently a majority, permit the trier of facts to make handwriting comparisons without the aid of experts. Moreover, I find the reasoning of the Minnesota Supreme Court in State v.…