Opinion ID: 3176573
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The State’s Three Expert Witnesses

Text: The State’s first expert was Donald Hoppe, Psy.D. 13 Hoppe explained that his primary role in evaluating Brumfield “was the administration of IQ testing in determining an IQ range.” Hoppe administered the WAIS–IV, which is one of the “gold standard” IQ tests, to Brumfield on March 13, 2009. On this test, Brumfield obtained a full-scale IQ score of 70 with a 95% confidence interval of 67 to 75. Hoppe explained that these “results are not that different from the results of Dr. Weinstein’s testing,” suggesting that the IQ scores obtained by both Hoppe and Weinstein are credible. Hoppe noted that he believed “that these scores represent the low end of what Mr. Brumfield’s intellectual range is” because “with more effort, his scores would have been higher.” However, Hoppe explicitly agreed that Brumfield meets the first requirement of an intellectual disability diagnosis based on the IQ test he administered and the previous scores that were consistently between 70 and 75. Although his primary role was to administer IQ testing to Brumfield, Hoppe also reviewed the available records from Brumfield’s past and commented generally on whether Brumfield is intellectually disabled. 14 Hoppe noted that Brumfield had taken an IQ test in 1984, and although no actual score was included in the records concerning the test, a report indicated that Brumfield scored in the “dull normal” range which implied a score between 80 13 Hoppe received his doctorate from Baylor University in 1981 and is a licensed psychologist in the State of Louisiana. He estimated that he has performed “hundreds, if not thousands” of IQ tests over his career. The district court accepted Hoppe as an expert in “clinical and forensic psychology.” 14 Hoppe did not interview anyone familiar with Brumfield. He only reviewed written records. 14 Case: 12-30256 Document: 00513375522 Page: 15 Date Filed: 02/10/2016 No. 12-30256 and 89. Hoppe further noted that although Brumfield had been evaluated previously by psychologists and psychiatrists, he was only diagnosed with conduct disorder, 15 never with an intellectual disability. Hoppe also discussed Brumfield’s past as it related to the adaptive functioning prong of the intellectual disability test. Discussing Brumfield’s two videotaped confessions to the police following the murder of Corporal Smothers, Hoppe stated that these were “good snapshot[s] of what . . . [Brumfield] was functioning like at the time of the crime.” Hoppe noted that Brumfield appeared to be quick-thinking and gave a “detailed description of the streets in Baton Rouge,” which was not consistent with his having an intellectual disability. With respect to the crime itself, Hoppe agreed that it was fairly complicated, requiring planning and coordination. Hoppe also explained that Brumfield’s previous criminal behavior was important to his conclusion that Brumfield has no intellectual disability. Brumfield appeared to pick “weak victims” in several successive crimes, suggesting that he has the capacity to plan and organize. Discussing earlier details of Brumfield’s life, Hoppe opined that Brumfield’s lack of long-term employment, his lack of a checking account, and the fact that he never entered into a contract, could result from Brumfield being lazy or the fact that he was only 20 years old when he was arrested. He stated that these factors did not necessarily suggest that Brumfield has an intellectual disability. Hoppe also stated that drug dealing is “a form of employment” and that selling drugs requires a skill set that is not necessarily compatible with an intellectual disability diagnosis. 15Conduct disorder is, essentially, the childhood version of antisocial personality disorder. “The essential feature of conduct disorder is a repetitive pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate norms or rules are violated,” i.e., conduct disorder is characterized by aggressive behavior. 15 Case: 12-30256 Document: 00513375522 Page: 16 Date Filed: 02/10/2016 No. 12-30256 The State’s second expert, Robert V. Blanche, M.D., 16 testified primarily as to whether Brumfield had deficits in adaptive functioning. Although Blanche evaluated Brumfield for intellectual disability, he had never heard of the AAMR/AAIDD, Red Book, Green Book, or User’s Guide before his deposition in this case and “was thus unfamiliar with [the AAIDD’s] diagnostic definitions.” 17 Id. at 388. He stated that instead of the AAIDD’s materials and definitions, psychiatrists rely on the DSM-IV instead. In explaining his evaluation of Brumfield, Blanche noted that he was not familiar with the standard adaptive behavior scales used by psychologists and had received no formal training in administering psychological testing. In conducting his evaluation, Blanche did not interview anyone other than Brumfield himself, noting that he did not “feel that [he] would get reliable information” from such interviews. Therefore, beyond his interview with Brumfield, Blanche’s inquiry into Brumfield’s adaptive functioning was limited to the available written records. In the records Blanche reviewed, there was no diagnosis of intellectual disability prior to the Atkins hearing despite multiple evaluations by psychologists and psychiatrists in the past. Blanche explained that Brumfield’s case was “a classic case of conduct disorder” and noted that, while many of the psychologists and psychiatrists who had previously evaluated Brumfield had diagnosed him with some form of conduct disorder, none of them had diagnosed him with an intellectual disability. Reviewing Brumfield’s records from the several group homes where he resided over the years, Blanche recalled a number of reports that Brumfield participated in sports and other group activities. Assessing the two videotaped 16 Blanche received his M.D. from LSU Medical School in 1981 and, at the time of the hearing, worked part time as a psychiatrist in the East Baton Rouge Parish jail, where he identified prisoners in need of mental health care. The district court accepted him as an expert in forensic psychiatry. 17 Blanche admitted this in a deposition that took place in January 2010. 16 Case: 12-30256 Document: 00513375522 Page: 17 Date Filed: 02/10/2016 No. 12-30256 confessions Brumfield gave to the police following Corporal Smothers’ murder, Blanche noted that Brumfield had no problems explaining himself to the police even in the face of complex questions. Based on Brumfield’s description of the events leading up to Smothers’ murder, Blanche concluded that the crime clearly involved planning, as Brumfield “scoped out [the] situation.” Additionally, Blanche explained that Brumfield’s other behaviors in the community, though often illegal, also demonstrated his adaptive behavior. For example, Brumfield chose to deal drugs instead of working a typical job not because he was unable to work a typical job but because dealing drugs was more lucrative. Similarly, Brumfield was able to “rent” a car by offering its owner drugs in exchange for the use of the car. Based on his review of the available records, Blanche concluded that, “to a reasonable medical certainty, [Brumfield] is not [intellectually disabled].” Despite this conclusion, Blanche admitted, on cross-examination, that “[Y]eah. I think he has some weaknesses. And in adaptive functioning that there are some—there are some, I will call it deficient. But to how significant they are, is, I think, a question.” He further agreed that Brumfield possesses weaknesses in several domains of adaptive functioning. Identifying specific weaknesses, Blanche stated that Brumfield’s impulsivity fits into the social domain of adaptive behavior and his inability to follow rules fits into the practical domain of adaptive behavior. The State’s final expert, John Bolter, Ph.D., 18 had previously evaluated Brumfield in 1995, written a report based on that evaluation, and testified in the penalty phase of Brumfield’s original trial. However, all of Bolter’s original records and raw data from his 1995 evaluation were destroyed. Bolter stated 18 Bolter received his Ph.D. from the University of Memphis, and at the time of the hearing was a practicing clinical neuropsychologist. 17 Case: 12-30256 Document: 00513375522 Page: 18 Date Filed: 02/10/2016 No. 12-30256 he remembered little about Brumfield’s 1995 evaluation and did not independently recall which materials he reviewed as part of that evaluation. Over Brumfield’s objection, the court accepted Bolter as an expert but restricted his testimony to the scope of his 1995 report. Id. at 388. In preparing his report, Bolter administered “a standard neuropsychological battery of tests to explore . . . brain function, assessing things such as visual spatial skills, language functioning, memory abilities, conceptual or executive functions, motor functions, and basic sensory perception functions.” Based on the tests he ran, Bolter “didn’t see any clear evidence of organic brain dysfunction.” He “saw that [Brumfield] had what [Bolter] thought was an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and . . . nonspecific learning difficulties . . . borderline intellectual functioning, and . . . an antisocial personality.” Bolter also administered the WAIS-R to Brumfield to measure his IQ. His full-scale IQ score was “in the range of 75” which put Brumfield in the “borderline mentally defective range.” Based on this test and all of the information available to him in 1995, Bolter did not diagnose Brumfield with an intellectual disability.