Title: State v. Sparks
Citation: 891 S.W.2d 607
Docket Number: N/A
State: Tennessee
Issuer: Tennessee Supreme Court
Date: January 3, 1995

891 S.W.2d 607 (1995) STATE of Tennessee, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Donald Wade SPARKS, Defendant-Appellant. Supreme Court of Tennessee, at Knoxville. January 3, 1995. *608 Charles W. Burson, Atty. Gen. and Reporter, Rebecca L. Gundt, Asst. Atty. Gen., Nashville, for plaintiff-appellee. Charles Dungan, Dungan &amp; Meares, Maryville, for defendant-appellant. REID, Justice. This case presents an appeal from the conviction of Donald Wade Sparks for first degree murder. The trial court rejected the plea of insanity, the only defense asserted by the defendant, and the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed. On this appeal, only two issues will be considered: whether the proof was sufficient to prove sanity beyond a reasonable doubt, and the related issue, whether the trial judge erred by allowing one of the arresting officers to testify that in his opinion the appellant was sane according to the legal definition of sanity. This Court finds that the evidence is not sufficient to support the finding that the defendant was sane beyond a reasonable doubt at the time the offense was committed, and, therefore, the defendant is not guilty by reason of insanity. The defendant shot and killed his mother on June 12, 1990. He was 29 years old. He lived in a trailer which was parked adjoining the residence occupied by the victim, Jo Ann Taylor, and his stepfather, Don Taylor. The trailer had been purchased for the defendant by the victim after he had been sent home from Atlanta in 1988 by his brother Jeffrey, who, though supportive of the defendant, "just couldn't handle him anymore." The defendant has a long history of mental illness, diagnosed as a schizoaffective disorder. The evidence includes medical records dating back to September of 1982, when he was first admitted as a patient to Overlook Mental Health Center. He later was discharged, but became a patient again in December of 1987, and has remained a patient at the center since then. Throughout his illness, various drugs have been prescribed to treat the defendant's symptoms of mental confusion, auditory and visual hallucinations, anxiety, depression, paranoia, memory lapses, and aggressiveness. At the time the offense was committed, he was being medicated with Haldol by injection once a month. He had received the last injection on May 18, 1990, three weeks before he shot his mother. According to Jeffrey Sparks, the defendant was "different" when he came home from service in the army in 1983, From 1983 to 1988, the defendant, who had a ninth grade education, lived in Atlanta where he worked with Jeffrey as a roofer. Jeffrey testified that his brother was "off" and related several incidents supporting that opinion. In 1983, the defendant "went off his rocker" and told his sister's boyfriend to leave her house, causing a serious confrontation with his sister and her friend. According to Jeffrey, during the roofing jobs, he sometimes "had to get the law to get him down off of the roof." Jeffrey testified that he was afraid of the defendant when he was "crazy", and had committed him to mental institutions because of his mental problems on at least two occasions, "maybe three." The defendant had also been committed by another brother in Dallas. After Jeffrey returned to Tennessee, he and the defendant worked together hanging dry wall and doing roofing work, and, according to Jeffrey, "He was getting crazier." His description of the defendant, was, He also testified that when the defendant was "on his medicine," he would work, go home, and sleep without taking a bath, but "he seemed to think better." The defendant's only prior criminal conviction was for driving while intoxicated. The facts of the crime are undisputed. Jeffrey, who was with the defendant on the day of the shooting, testified as follows: Around noon on the day of the crime, Jeffrey's wife had called Overlook Mental Health Center and asked whether the defendant had been receiving his medication. Later that day, the defendant walked into Overlook Mental Health Center and told a person there to stop calling his brother and telling him that he was not taking his medicine. After leaving Overlook, he went to his cousin Gary Sparks' motorcycle shop where he bought a pistol from Jimmy Swiggett. He was drinking and was "high" but not "drunk." He and Swiggett left the shop for about an hour, during which time the defendant purchased a box of ammunition and test fired the pistol. The defendant provoked a quarrel with another man in the shop and a fight between them was avoided by the intervention of his cousin. Gary Sparks described the incident as follows: Around 5:30 that afternoon, the stepfather, Don Taylor, came home from work. After talking with his wife, he locked the door in order to keep the defendant out of the house, and went to his barn to feed his hogs. Around 6:00 p.m., the defendant came to the barn. Taylor testified that, The defendant called 911. Taylor checked the victim for a pulse, and then, "panicked and ran." Taylor described the defendant as being "very calm" at this time. Jo Ann Taylor had been shot four times. Officers Larry Winters and Joe Godfrey, who responded to the 911 call, arrived at the Taylor residence at about 6:56 p.m. Winters testified that they were near the trailer when the defendant stepped out of the trailer and "asked us if we were having a good day," and that, When asked, "What was his demeanor when he said that?," Winters replied, "Very calm." The officers and the defendant walked into the house where they saw the victim slumped in a chair with blood "splattered." Winters testified that the defendant said, "Do you think she's going to be okay or do you think she's dead?" The defendant was then handcuffed, read his Miranda rights, and placed in Winters' cruiser. Dale Gourley, the chief detective for the Blount County Sheriff's Department, arrived around 7 p.m., and Detective Jim Widener arrived a few minutes later. When Winters went to the car to check on the defendant, he said, The defendant was transported to the jail where a blood test was performed. The test showed a blood ethyl alcohol content of 0.10 grams and a negative finding for basic drugs. At approximately 12:30 a.m., detectives Gourley and Widener, after again advising the defendant of his Miranda rights, conducted a videotaped interview with the defendant. Review of the videotape shows that during the interview the defendant appeared slow and sedate, and occasionally giggled. Some statements and responses to questions were essentially reasonable, but his answers to other questions were not sensible. For example: Detective Gourley testified that after the interview, The witnesses Jeffrey Sparks, Don Taylor, Vickie McMurray, Gary Sparks, and Jim Widener testified with regard to the defendant's mental condition at the time the offense was committed, as well as to their *611 knowledge of the defendant and the facts and circumstances of the crime. The defendant's objection to Widener's opinion testimony was overruled by the trial judge. Jeffrey Sparks testified that he thought that his brother did not understand the wrongfulness of his act, and that he was unable to help himself with regard to the homicide. He further testified: The stepfather, Don Taylor, testified that he thought the defendant was "right" in the head. The jail nurse, Vickie McMurray, testified that the defendant did not act unusual on the night that he was arrested, but she also stated that she had seen the defendant talk to nonexistent people in a corner of his cell and in the shower, and he would act "threatening" when he was not taking his medicine: She repeated that when he was on his medication he was fine, but when he was off of it, she was afraid of him. Gary Sparks, the defendant's cousin, testified, When asked, "Is it your opinion that he suffered from a mental illness?", he responded: "I ain't got no way to tell whether he's mentally ill or not." Detective Widener, one of the officers who investigated the case, stated that, in his opinion, the defendant knew the wrongfulness of his act and could conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. Detective Widener had graduated from high school, he was working on a Bachelor's Degree in criminology through a correspondence course, and he had taken some psychology courses. He based his opinion regarding the defendant's mental condition upon his observation of the defendant while he was being interviewed by Detective Gourley, and upon the fact that the defendant had called 911, he had waited for the officers at the scene of the crime, and he had told them how the crime was committed. Three state-employed experts testified regarding the defendant's mental condition at the time of the shooting. The State requested that Dr. Abraham Brietstein, a clinical psychologist, evaluate the defendant for the purpose of formulating an opinion as to his sanity at the time the offense occurred. Dr. Brietstein's testimony and opinion were based on three two-hour appointments with the defendant, a test given to the defendant, conversations with the defendant's family members, and a review of the records of previous psychological evaluations. Dr. Brietstein stated that the defendant had schizophrenia, a serious mental illness. He testified: In response to cross-examination, Dr. Brietstein testified that it would not be inconsistent with his diagnosis for the defendant to state I'll spend less time in a mental hospital than in jail, to calmly discuss the events of the shooting shortly after it happened, or to purchase the gun and then go home and shoot his mother. Dr. Jackson B. White, IV, a psychiatrist, who is the clinical director at Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute (MTMHI), testified that pursuant to a court order he did a forensic evaluation on the defendant three months after the killing. For that purpose, the defendant was at MTMHI for 58 days. The evaluation was performed by a team consisting of a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a social worker, and a nurse, and was based on constant observation, testing, interviews, prior psychiatric medical reports, and background information. The purpose of Dr. White's evaluation was to determine if the defendant was mentally ill, and if so, "how he was functioning at the time of the incident." He diagnosed the defendant's illness as chronic, undifferentiated type, schizophrenia. He testified that in his opinion, the defendant had a psychotic break in 1981; he defined a psychotic break as losing contact with reality. He concluded from the evaluation that the defendant could not appreciate the wrongfulness of the act of killing his mother. When asked whether the defendant could substantially conform his conduct on June 12, 1990 to the requirements of the law, he testified, "It was our impression that his behavior was outside of his control." Dr. White testified that the defendant was seen by a Dr. Bursten two days after the episode and that Dr. Bursten described the defendant as being quite ill, and he doubled the defendant's dosage of Haldol from 50 milligrams to 100 milligrams. When asked if he could be malingering, Dr. White testified that his tests and observations would expose malingering, and that Dr. Samuel Craddock, a clinical psychologist with a doctorate in psychology, who was also part of the forensic team at MTMHI, testified that he considered the records from the defendant's prior hospitalizations in Dallas and Georgia, as well as the records from the Overlook Mental Health Center, the video taped interview with the defendant, and transcripts of interviews with individuals who were with the defendant on the day of the shooting. He performed psychological tests on the defendant and spent the "better part of the day" with the defendant on seven separate days. He also saw the defendant at the Cockrill Bend Facility where he was detained before trial. Dr. Craddock expressed the opinion that the defendant was psychotic[1] and schizophrenic and was not *613 attempting to give a distorted impression of himself. He testified, He also testified that the statement "you can't blame a man for trying" indicated that the defendant was not malingering because, "if he wanted to portray himself as being mentally ill and had a rational thought process, he would not make such a statement that would be rather convicting or self-incriminating." He further testified, The defendant insists that Detective Widener's lay opinion testimony was not admissible. Consequently, the first issue is whether the trial judge erred in allowing Widener to express the opinion that at the time the offense was committed the defendant "knew the wrongfulness of his act" and "was capable of conforming his conduct to the requirements of the law." The Court of Criminal Appeals found the trial court properly allowed Detective Widener to state his opinion, apparently finding that the officer's observations of the defendant's actions and conduct were a sufficient basis on which to express an opinion regarding his mental condition. The determination of the admissibility of Detective Widener's testimony begins with the Tennessee Rules of Evidence, which became effective January 1, 1990. Rule 701, Opinion Testimony by Lay Witnesses, provides: This rule essentially incorporated existing Tennessee law. Prior to the adoption of the Rules, lay opinion evidence was allowed "where a proper foundation for the expressing of an opinion [was] laid." Edwards v. State, 540 S.W.2d 641, 646 (Tenn. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1061, 97 S. Ct. 784, 50 L. Ed. 2d 777 (1977). The rationale for retaining the prior law, which is different from the federal rule, has been stated as follows: J. Houston Gordon, "The Admissibility of Lay and Expert Opinions," 57 Tennessee Law Review 103, 104, 114 (1989) (footnotes omitted). With regard to subsection (a)(1) of the rule, that only those "opinions and inferences [which] do not require a special knowledge, skill, experience, or training," are admissible, the authors of Tennessee Law of Evidence state: Cohen, Paine &amp; Shepherd, Tennessee Law of Evidence, § 701.4, (2d ed. 1990) (citing Edwards v. State, 540 S.W.2d 641 (Tenn. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1061, 97 S. Ct. 784, 50 L. Ed. 2d 777 (1977)). To be reliable, a lay opinion regarding sanity must be based on the knowledge of facts which reflect the person's mental condition. Consequently, observation by a lay witness for a short period of time rarely can constitute a reliable foundation for the expression of an opinion about the mental condition of the person observed. On the other hand, a household member, a near neighbor, a close friend, a fellow worker, anyone who is well acquainted with the person observed, probably will have sufficient knowledge on which to express a reliable opinion. The second requirement of Rule 701 is: The Advisory Commission comments address this provision of the rule as follows: The symptoms or indicia of sanity or insanity, observable by non-experts in mental health, are the usual activities and personal interactions which can be described readily, accurately, and adequately by a lay witness without resort to the expression of an opinion. The third condition for the admissibility of lay opinion testimony is that it "will not mislead the trier of fact... ." Tested against the standards of Rule 701, the opinion testimony by Detective Widener that the defendant in this case knew the wrongfulness of his conduct and could conform his conduct to the law was not admissible. The sole basis for Detective Widener's opinion was his observations of the defendant over a short time period while he was in custody. Those observations were adequately communicated to the court and jury by the witness in testimony other than the expression of his opinion. Detective Widener was in no better position to draw a conclusion from these observations than were the members of the jury. Even under the comparable federal rule of evidence which merely requires that the lay opinion be based on the perception of the witness and be helpful to the jury, it is recognized that "assertions which amount to little more than choosing up sides," should be excluded as unhelpful to the jury. Fed.R.Evid. 701 advisory committee's note; see also McCormick on Evidence 43-45 (John William Strong ed., 4th ed. 1992). The very limited observation of the defendant's *615 conduct made by the witness was not a sufficient foundation on which to base an opinion of sanity. Consequently, the trial court erred in allowing Widener to give opinion testimony. If the admission of the officer's opinion testimony were the only error in the record, that error would be tested according to Rule 36(b), Rules of Appellate Procedure, to determine if the error more probably than not affected the jury verdict. See Tenn. R.Crim.P. 52. However, since the evidence is not sufficient to support the jury verdict, requiring that the case be reversed and remanded, harmless error analysis is not necessary. With regard to the sufficiency of the evidence, the Court of Criminal Appeals found that, Rule 13(e) of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure provides that "[f]indings of guilt in criminal actions whether by the trial court or jury shall be set aside if the evidence is insufficient to support the findings by the trier of fact of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." In State v. Smith, this Court summarized the standard of review for a jury verdict as follows: State v. Smith, 868 S.W.2d 561, 568-69 (Tenn. 1993), petition for cert. filed (Apr. 4, 1994) (citations omitted). Insanity at the time an offense is committed is an absolute defense. The current standard for sustaining a plea of insanity was first set out in Graham v. State, 547 S.W.2d 531, 543-44 (Tenn. 1977), now codified in section 39-11-501(a) (1991) of the Tennessee Code Annotated: Because a defendant is presumed to be sane, the defendant has the initial burden of showing that sanity is an issue. However, In this case, the record shows, and the State acknowledges, that the proof established that the defendant had a "mental disease or defect" at the time he committed the crime and that such evidence raised a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's sanity and shifted the burden of proof to the State. Consequently, in order to prevail, the State had the burden of proving the defendant was capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his conduct and conforming his conduct to the requirements of the law. See State v. Patton, 593 S.W.2d 913, 915 (Tenn. 1979); Edwards v. State, 540 S.W.2d 641, 646 (Tenn. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1061, 97 S. Ct. 784, 50 L. Ed. 2d 777 (1977). The determination of the defendant's sanity at the time of the crime was a question of fact for the jury upon consideration of all the evidence. All the expert testimony in the case supports both grounds for finding insanity the defendant's inability to appreciate the wrongfulness of his act, and his inability to conform his conduct to the law. The State insists that, nevertheless, the lay evidence in the record adequately supports the jury's finding that the defendant was sane beyond a reasonable doubt. The State is not limited to expert testimony in proving the defendant was sane. The State's burden of proving insanity, Edwards v. State, 540 S.W.2d at 646. In making its determination, the jury is allowed to consider both lay and expert testimony as evidence, and it may discount expert testimony which it finds to be in conflict with the facts of the case. Id. at 647. All three experts relied on extensive reports and examinations. All three experts testified that the defendant suffered from schizophrenia when he was examined, and, in the opinion of each, he was psychotic at the time the crime was committed. Each of the three experts also expressed the opinion that the defendant was not malingering, and each testified that the defendant's statement to Detective Widener, that "you can't blame a man for trying," was not inconsistent with the finding of insanity. The experts' description of the behavior associated with schizophrenics is consistent with the defendant's actions and demeanor before and after the commission of the crime. Their testimony established that all of the defendant's actions, from his calm demeanor to his erratic temper, and even the unprovoked killing of his mother, were consistent with schizophrenia. In addition to the testimony of the expert witnesses, the testimony of the defendant's brother and cousin support the plea of insanity, leaving only the testimony of the victim's husband, the jail nurse, and a police officer. In summary, the State relies upon the following facts, opinions and statements as evidence that the defendant was sane at the time of the offense: the facts that the defendant had received his monthly injection of medication, the defendant bought the pistol and ammunition with which the crime was committed, he appeared to be calm after the crime, he called 911 and he was able to remember the events of the crime; the step-father's *617 opinion that he had never felt the defendant was mentally ill; the statements made by the jail nurse that the defendant did not act unusual on the night that he was arrested, by Detective Widener that the defendant "acted" as if he knew the wrongfulness of his act and could conform his conduct to the requirements of the law, and by the defendant that "you can't blame a fellow for trying." This review shows that the evidence relied upon by the State to prove that the defendant was sane was not sufficient. As stated previously, the State's burden may be met by expert testimony, lay testimony based on a proper foundation, and evidence of conduct consistent with sanity and inconsistent with insanity. In this case there was no expert testimony in support of the defendant's sanity. The lay opinion of the police officer was not supported by an adequate foundation, and even though the record contains evidence of acts and statements of the defendant which are consistent with sanity, they are not inconsistent with insanity. See State v. Edward Jackson, 890 S.W.2d 436 (Tenn. 1994); Edwards v. State, 540 S.W.2d at 647. The evidence, therefore, does not support the jury's finding that the defendant was sane at the time the crime was committed. Because the State failed to prove the defendant's sanity beyond a reasonable doubt, the conviction is reversed, the defendant is found not guilty by reason of insanity, and the case is remanded to the trial court for proceedings pursuant to T.C.A. § 33-7-303 (Supp. 1993). All other issues are pretermitted. Costs are assessed against the State. ANDERSON, C.J., DROWOTA, and BIRCH, JJ., and O'BRIEN, Special Judge, concur. [1] Mr. Craddock defined "psychotic" as being out of touch with reality or having marginal touch with reality and having difficulty making accurate interpretations of what was going on in one's surroundings.