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Com. v. Cooper5/19/2004
l, caused his erratic driving. Having heard from two State troopers who testified the defendant exhibited "the classic signs" (T1/85) of intoxication, the jury could reasonably conclude that the defendant was operating his truck while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. See Commonwealth v. Bryer, 398 Mass. 9, 17 (1986) (jury resolved credibility issue in Commonwealth's favor, where defendant "pitted his credibility against [that] of the officers"); Commonwealth v. Latimore, 378 Mass. 671, 678-679 (1979) (evidence permitted inference that jury drew).
There was no abuse of discretion in excluding the testimony of the defendant's expert witness, where the judge expressed "serious doubts about the manner in which [the] testimony would ... be understood by the jury and would help them." (T1/201). See Commonwealth v. Connolly, 394 Mass. 169, 175 (1985). For substantially the reasons stated in the Commonwealth's brief at 25-27, we determine that there was no error in excluding the testimony concerning the side effects of the prescription antibiotic. It would have duplicated pages admitted in evidence from the Physician's Desk Reference, which indicated that the possible side effects include "dizziness, fatigue, headache, agitation, confusion [and] hallucination." (T1/148). Furthermore, having not examined the defendant at the time of arrest, "the witness could have only speculated as to the defendant's condition at the time of the incident." Commonwealth v. Bryer, supra at 15-16. Finally, for the reasons stated in the Commonwealth's brief at 27-30, we discern no error, much less error giving rise to a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice, in the Commonwealth's closing statements concerning the prescription bottle, the patient information sheet, and the Physician's Desk Reference, all of which had been introduced in evidence.
Judgment affirmed.
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