95 Ga. 762 | Ga. | 1895
The questions made in this case arose upon the trial ■of a caveat filed to the probate of a will. A verdict was rendered sustaining the will. The caveators moved for a new trial, upon the general grounds that the verdict was contrary to law, evidence, etc., and upon the ground that the court, upon objection to its competency, excluded certain testimony of one of the witnesses ■offered by the caveators, the testimony offered and repelled being that of the mother of the testatrix, she testifying: “I do not think she had her mind at all times” (referring to the testatrix). “I do not think Mary’s mental condition was right all the time. I was not with her when she made the will, but do not think
We understand the rule to be, that with respect to the opinions of non-expert witnesses, they are admissible in evidence where the question under consideration is one of opinion, and where such witnesses state the facts and circumstances upon which the opinions expressed by them in their testimony are predicated. The probative value of all opinions is ultimately a matter which the jury must determine for itself; but whether an opinion is so far supported by the actual existence of circumstances which lead to its formation as entitles it to be considered at all, is a question of law which the courts must determine. A bare opinion of a non-expert witness, without detailing the circumstances and facts upon which it is predicated, if permitted to go to the iury, would amount virtually to a substitution of the opinion of the witiness for the opinion of the jury; and it is the mental conclusions of the latter, and not of the former, which are invoked by courts to assist them in arriving at correct conclusions with respect to matters of fact which they are called upon to consider. Before the opinion of a non-expert witness can be considered, it must appear not only that the witness had the op
The only other exception is, that the verdict is contrary to the evidence. It would serve no profitable purpose to state here in extenso the evidence submitted for the respective parties in the trial of this case. We have carefully and critically examined it with a view of determining what should have been its just and appropriate probative force. We find that the verdict is amply supported by the evidence in the case, and we have no disposition, therefore, to disturb it. We are the more readily persuaded to this conclusion by the assurance that the eminent circuit judge who presided upon the trial of this case, after his usual painstaking and careful review of the verdict, has seen proper, in his discretion, to approve the finding of the jury.
Let the judgment of the court below be Affirmed.