State of Arizona v. Darrell Bryant Ketchner

Summary

The court held that expert testimony describing domestic-violence profile characteristics, including separation violence and lethality factors, was inadmissible because it invited the jury to infer guilt from conformity with an abuser profile. The error was not harmless as to the felony-murder and burglary counts because the testimony supported the State's theory that Ketchner entered the home intending to commit a felony. The error was harmless as to the aggravated-assault and attempted-murder counts, which were independently supported and uncontested.