Case Name: Ricky L. MOONEYHAM, Appellant, v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee
Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 2005-12-06
Citations: 915 So. 2d 1102
Docket Number: No. 2004-KA-01103-COA
Parties: Ricky L. MOONEYHAM, Appellant, v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.
Judges: Before LEE, P.J., GRIFFIS and ISHEE, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 915
Pages: 1102–1108

Head Matter:
Ricky L. MOONEYHAM, Appellant, v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.
No. 2004-KA-01103-COA.
Court of Appeals of Mississippi.
Dec. 6, 2005.
James P. Johnstone, attorney for appellant.
Office of the Attorney General by John R. Henry, attorney for appellee.
Before LEE, P.J., GRIFFIS and ISHEE, JJ.

Opinion:
ISHEE, J,
for the Court.
¶ 1. This cause was brought to trial in the Circuit Court of Pontotoc County by the State of Mississippi against Ricky L. Mooneyham for four counts of fondling in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated § 97-5-23(1) (Rev.2000). After a trial on the merits, Mooneyham was convicted on three of the four counts alleged against him and sentenced to fifteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Aggrieved by the judgment against him, Mooneyham timely appeals. Finding no error, we affirm his conviction.
FACTS
¶ 2. Ricky L. Mooneyham, is the uncle to J.R.'s two daughters, D.J. and N.J., who were born on September 19, 1991, and December 1, 1995, respectively. The two girls visited the Mooneyham home often, with Mooneyham frequently taking the girls with him on various short trips, sometimes with Mooneyham's son, and always with J.R.'s permission. On November 15, 2002, J.R. reported to the Pontotoc County Department of Human Services that D.J. told her that Mooneyham had touched her inside her panties and had rubbed on her breasts while forcing her to rub on the outside of his underwear. N.J. initially informed her mother that Mooneyham had tried to touch her as well, but was unsuccessful. An investigation by the Department of Human Services and the Pontotoc County Sheriffs Department included interviews of both girls at the Family Crisis Services in Oxford, Mississippi, medical examinations, and statements taken by the Pontotoc Sheriffs Department. As a result of the investigation, Mooneyham was arrested and charged with fondling the two girls. The grand jury indicted Moo-neyham on four counts of fondling, with two counts involving each girl.- After trial on the merits, Mooneyham was convicted on both counts as to D.J. and the second of the two counts against N.J. Circuit Court Judge Sharion Aycock declared a mistrial as to the first of the two counts involving N.J. Aggrieved by the decision against him, Mooneyham asserts the following error on appeal: whether the trial court erred by admitting the testimony of Carol Langendoen.
ISSUE AND ANALYSIS
I. Whether the trial court erred by admitting the testimony of Carol Langendoen.
¶ 3. Mooneyham asserts on appeal that the trial court erred in admitting expert testimony from witness Carol Langendoen, a forensic interviewer at Family Crisis Services. "Our well-settled standard of review for the admission or suppression of evidence is abuse of discretion." Mississippi Transp. Comm'n v. McLemore, 863 So.2d 31, 34 (¶ 4) (Miss.2003) (citing Haggerty v. Foster, 838 So.2d 948, 958(¶25) (Miss.2002)). Mooneyham argues that the State failed to establish, and the trial court failed to find, that the field of forensic interviewing was an area of expertise under the rule for such admissions adopted by the Mississippi Supreme Court in McLemore, as originally stated in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993), as modified by Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 119 S.Ct. 1167, 143 L.Ed.2d 238 (1999). McLemore, 863 So.2d at 34(¶ 4). "[The] analytical framework provided by the modified Daubert standard requires the trial court to perform a two-pronged inquiry in deter mining whether the expert testimony is admissible under Rule 702." Id. at 38(¶ 16) (citing Pipitone v. Biomatrix, Inc., 288 F.3d 239, 244 (5th Cir.2002)). Under M.R.E. 702, expert testimony should be admitted only after a two pronged inquiry. First, the witness must be qualified as an expert because of the knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education he or she possesses. M.R.E. 702; see also Watkins v. U-Haul Int'l, Inc., 770 So.2d 970, 973 (¶10) (Miss.Ct.App.2000). Second, the witness's scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge must assist the trier of fact. Watkins, 770 So.2d at 973 (¶ 10).
¶ 4. Carol Langendoen testified at trial that she had completed a forty-hour training course that was nationally recognized and accepted in the field of "Finding Words." The purpose of the course was to train social workers how to conduct forensic interviews of children suspected of having been sexually or physically abused, or who have witnessed a violent crime. The "Finding Words" protocol is designed to help interviewers to interview child witnesses in such a way as to avoid suggesting facts or testimony to the child. Lan-gendoen stated that she had performed 134 interviews on children, and had completed 126 training hours in forensic interviewing, and some 215 hours in training for child abuse cases generally. Langen-doen further testified that she had attended over 340 hours of continuing education in the field of child abuse, and in forensic interviewing specifically.
¶ 5. At trial, counsel for Mooneyham objected, pursuant to M.R.E. 702, to the trial court's action in certifying Langendoen as an expert. Mooneyham's objection was promptly overruled. Mooneyham argues on appeal that the testimony of Langen-doen should not have been allowed for several reasons. Mooneyham asserts that Langendoen could cite no evidence of her methods ever having been independently tested, nor that she was aware of any research that could shed light on the rate of error regarding her methods. Furthermore, Mooneyham argues that her methods are unreliable as there is no single accrediting or sanctioning body for the field of forensic interviewing. Therefore, according to Mooneyham, the admission of Langendoen's testimony was highly prejudicial and speculative at best.
¶ 6. The State counters that this Court has recognized the area of investigations of sexual abuse cases, especially through interviews, as a competent area of expertise. See T.K. ex rel. D.K. v. Simpson County Sch. Dist., 846 So.2d 312, 318 (¶22) (Miss.Ct.App.2003) (affirming admission of licensed counselor as expert witness who had interviewed over 2,800 sexually abused children). The State further argues that Langendoen illustrated all of the factors necessary under M.R.E. 702. According to the State, Langendoen's testimony was based upon sufficient facts and data as she testified in detail as to how she conducted her interview with the victim and she testified in detail as to what the victim told her. The State also argues that Langendoen's testimony was the product of reliable principles and methods, despite the general consensus within her field that there is no single "right way" to conduct an interview. Furthermore, according to the State, Lan-gendoen applied the principles and methods of her interviewing skills reliably to the facts of the case. We agree, and find that there was a credible basis for accepting Langendoen as an expert in the area of forensic interviewing. The admission of Langendoen's testimony was within the sound discretion of the trial court, and no abuse of that discretion is evident. This argument is without merit.
¶ 7. THE JUDGMENT OF THE PON-TOTOC COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT OF CONVICTION OF THREE COUNTS OF FONDLING AND SENTENCE OF FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS IS AFFIRMED. ALL COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE ASSESSED TO PONTOTOC COUNTY.
KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ, BRIDGES, IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS AND BARNES, JJ., CONCUR. CHANDLER, J., SPECIALLY CONCURS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY . BRIDGES, IRVING, GRIFFIS AND BARNES, JJ. ISHEE, J., CONCURS IN PART. ^