Opinion ID: 1730477
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 22

Heading: the trial court erred in allowing the testimony of dr. mona carlyle.

Text: Carr called Dr. William Kallman, a licensed clinical psychologist, as an expert witness. Dr. Kallman performed various standardized tests on Carr and spent approximately ten hours with him. It was Dr. Kallman's opinion that it would be unlikely that Carr would reveal information about his personal sexual behavior to a stranger. During an earlier hearing in chambers, the State had objected to Dr. Kallman's proposed testimony. The trial court ruled Dr. Kallman's testimony admissible and also held that the State would be permitted to cross-examine him on the particular character trait and offer anything in rebuttal. The State called Dr. Mona Carlyle, a clinical psychologist, in rebuttal. Carr objected to her being allowed to render an opinion because she had never personally interviewed Carr. The court overruled the objection. Based on a review of Dr. Kallman's file and facts related to the witness in the form of a hypothetical, Dr. Carlyle rendered her opinion that Carr would be highly likely to reveal information about his personal sexual behavior to a stranger. Carr argues that it was improper to allow Dr. Carlyle to give an expert opinion based solely on the opinions and testimony of other expert witnesses. Carr cites Harvey v. State, 207 So.2d 108, 118 (Miss. 1968), for the proposition that an expert witness cannot express his or her opinion based upon the opinion and testimony of other experts. Carr also relies on Butler v. State, 245 So.2d 605 (Miss. 1971), where this court found reversible error when a doctor testified to the mental condition of the appellant based upon the examination of other doctors who were not called to testify. This Court reversed on the basic and fundamental right to be confronted by the witness as well as the right of cross examination. Id. at 607. There are two distinguishing characteristics between the case sub judice and the holdings in Harvey and Butler. First, Dr. Carlyle based her opinion on the entire file of Dr. Kallman, not only his opinion and testimony. The file contained the results of the battery of tests Carr was given. Second, Dr. Kallman had been called as a defense witness in this case, thereby making him available for confrontational and cross-examination purposes. We have recognized that professionals in the field of psychology regularly form opinions from observation, test data, and opinions of other doctors. See Turner v. State, 573 So.2d 657, 673 (Miss. 1990), cert. denied, 500 U.S. 910, 111 S.Ct. 1695, 114 L.Ed.2d 89 (1991). It is within the discretion of the trial court to determine if an expert is qualified to testify. Goodson v. State, 566 So.2d 1142, 1145 (Miss. 1990) ( quoting May v. State, 524 So.2d 957, 963 (Miss. 1988)). We find no abuse of discretion by the trial court in allowing the rebuttal testimony of Dr. Carlyle. See Turner, 573 So.2d at 673. Accordingly, this assignment of error is meritless.