State v. Carreon

In State v. Carreon, 151 Ariz. 615, 729 P.2d 969 (App. 1986) the Court rejected the defendant's contention that the admission of an officer's expert opinion that the drugs were possessed for sale constituted reversible error. Id. at 616, 729 P.2d at 970. The court noted Rule 704, Ariz. R. Evid., provides that opinion testimony "is not excludable merely because it embraces an ultimate issue of fact" but may be admitted if it assists the jury in understanding the evidence and that "a police officer's expert testimony concerning whether drugs were possessed for sale has long been admissible in this state." Id. at 617, 729 P.2d at 971. The Arizona Supreme Court held that consecutive sentences were not permissible for prohibited possession and attempted murder under circumstances when the defendant's prohibited possession of a firearm did not expose the victim to "a risk that exceeded that inherent in the attempt on the victim's life." But in that case, the defendant did not use the gun against the victim a second time after the sequence of events that constituted the attempted murder. 210 Ariz. 54, PP11-12, 107 P.3d at 906.