1309
In the movie "My Cousin Vinny," two youths from New York are charged with the murder of a convenience store clerk. At the close of the state's case, they call George Wilbur, a forensic scientist at the FBI lab. Wilbur testifies that he compared tire marks left at the scene with the tires on the defendants' green Buick Skylark, and found that they matched. On cross-examination, Wilbur admits that the particular brand and size of tire is very common.
As their first witness, the defense calls Mona Lisa Vito as an expert in general automotive knowledge. She will testify that in her opinion, based on her general automotive knowledge, the tire marks left at the scene of the crime could not have been left by the defendants' car (a Buick Skylark) and must have been made by a different kind of car.
Q: Miss Vito, what's your current profession?
A: I'm an out of work hairdresser.
Q: Out of work hairdresser? Now, in what way does that qualify you as an expert in automobiles?
A: It doesn't.
Q: In what way are you qualified?
A: Well, my father was a mechanic, his father was a mechanic, my mother's father was a mechanic, my three brothers are mechanics, four uncles on my father's side are mechanics--
Q: Your family is obviously qualified, but have you ever worked as a mechanic?
A: Yeah, in my father's garage, yeah.
Q: As a mechanic? What did you do in your father's garage?
A: Tune-ups, oil changes, brake relining, engine rebuilds, rebuild some trannies and rear ends--
Q: Okay, okay. But does being an ex-mechanic necessarily qualify you as being an expert on tire marks?
A. No.
If the prosecution were to object that she is not qualified as an expert in general automotive knowledge, how should the court rule?
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