California Evidence Code 1107 – (a) In a criminal action, expert testimony is admissible by …
(a) In a criminal action, expert testimony is admissible by either the prosecution or the defense regarding intimate partner battering and its effects, including the nature and effect of physical, emotional, or mental abuse on the beliefs, perceptions, or behavior of victims of domestic violence, except when offered against a criminal defendant to prove the occurrence of the act or acts of abuse which form the basis of the criminal charge.
(b) The foundation shall be sufficient for admission of this expert testimony if the proponent of the evidence establishes its relevancy and the proper qualifications of the expert witness. Expert opinion testimony on intimate partner battering and its effects shall not be considered a new scientific technique whose reliability is unproven.
Terms Used In California Evidence Code 1107
- Action: includes a civil action and a criminal action. See California Evidence Code 105
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Evidence: means testimony, writings, material objects, or other things presented to the senses that are offered to prove the existence or nonexistence of a fact. See California Evidence Code 140
- expert: means a physician and surgeon, including a psychiatrist, or any person described by subdivision (b), (c), or (e) of Section 1010. See California Evidence Code 240
- Law: includes constitutional, statutory, and decisional law. See California Evidence Code 160
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
(c) For purposes of this section, “abuse” is defined in § 6203 of the Family Code, and “domestic violence” is defined in § 6211 of the Family Code and may include acts defined in Section 242, subdivision (e) of Section 243, Section 261, 273.5, 273.6, 422, or 653m of, or former Section 262 of, the Penal Code.
(d) This section is intended as a rule of evidence only and no substantive change affecting the Penal Code is intended.
(e) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Expert Witness Testimony on Intimate Partner Battering and Its Effects Section of the Evidence Code.
(f) The changes in this section that become effective on January 1, 2005, are not intended to impact any existing decisional law regarding this section, and that decisional law should apply equally to this section as it refers to “intimate partner battering and its effects” in place of “battered women’s syndrome.”
(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 197, Sec. 2. (SB 1493) Effective January 1, 2023.)