Opinion ID: 1662097
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Exclusion of Dr. Galliher's testimony

Text: Smulls called Dr. John Galliher, a professor of sociology who had reviewed Judge Corrigan's conduct during various trials in order to establish racial bias. Judge O'Brien excluded the evidence for a variety of reasons, ultimately concluding that the testimony was not credible. On appellate review, such a determination will rarely be overturned because a trial court is in the best position to assess the credibility and usefulness of expert testimony. Rousan v. State, 48 S.W.3d at 589. In an offer of proof, Dr. Galliher discussed at length the existence and effect of unconscious racial bias in our society, that people with such bias falsely claim not to be able to recognize race and will tell jokes to express their feelings, and that there is a correlation between gender bias and racial bias. He also commented on excerpts from Smulls' trial and several of Judge Corrigan's other cases. He concluded that Judge Corrigan's behaviors viewed together were inconsistent with adhering to Batson's spirit and were relevant to Smulls' ability to have Batson fairly decided. Judge O'Brien rejected this testimony in part because it did not satisfy the Frye test that an expert opinion must be based upon a valid and accepted scientific methodology and assist the trier of fact in the determination of an issue. Callahan v. Cardinal Glennon Hosp., 863 S.W.2d 852, 860 (Mo. banc 1993); Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013, 1014 (D.C.Cir.1923). Dr. Galliher admitted that his opinions were not based upon a random sampling of Judge Corrigan's cases or any first-hand observation of any of Judge Corrigan's cases. He testified that Judge Corrigan berates black defendants in a manner not found in cases with white defendants, but admitted that he did not look beyond the nine cases selected by Smulls (out of hundreds heard), and that the defendants were black in only six of those nine cases. The circumstances of these cases prove the point: In one case, Judge Corrigan referred to the defendant as an animal, but the defendant had been convicted of the brutal beating and rape of an elderly woman; in another case, Judge Corrigan called the defendant a mad dog; but the defendant was a serial rapist; in another case, he called the defendant a flim-flam man, but the defendant had been found guilty of forgery and defrauding his employer. The other cases are comparable. This is hardly proof of a pattern of racial bias. Moreover, Dr. Galliher was not able to identify any prejudice in the actual imposition of sentences and noted Judge Corrigan consistently followed the jury's recommendation. For these reasons, Judge O'Brien did not abuse his discretion in rejecting Dr. Galliher's testimony.