ALBANY – The state Court of Appeals found yesterday that expert testimony on child sexual abuse was useful to jurors in one case but in another it was prejudicial to the defendant because of improper questioning by the prosecution.
Writing for the 6-0 court in each case, People v. Diaz, 52, and People v. Williams, 53, Judge Eugene Pigott Jr. (See Profile) said expert testimony on rape trauma syndrome, abused child syndrome or similar conditions is admissible if it can "clarify an issue calling for professional or technical knowledge, possessed by the expert and beyond the ken of the typical juror," quoting Delong v. Erie County, 60 NY2d 296 (1983).
