Opinion ID: 1256193
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Psychological Records and Expert Testimony

Text: {45} The trial court granted the State's motion for discovery of confidential medical records regarding Defendant's voluntary commitment at a mental hospital prior to the crimes in question. The trial court also admitted the expert testimony of Dr. Matthews, a psychologist who had reviewed these records. Defendant asserts that the medical records were not a proper subject of discovery because he did not place his mental health at issue in the case. See Rule 11-504(B), (D)(3) NMRA 1999; cf. State v. Roper, 1996-NMCA-073, ¶ 15, 122 N.M. 126, 921 P.2d 322 (discussing whether a defendant placed his physical condition at issue for purposes of Rule 11-504(D)(3)). Defendant also asserts that Dr. Matthews' testimony was inadmissible because it was tainted by the psychologist's unlawful review of Defendant's medical records, because it did not meet the requirements for expert testimony stated in Rule 11-702 NMRA 1999, and because it unfairly invited the jury to find Defendant guilty based on a comparison with other persons who committed notorious crimes, see Chapman, 104 N.M. at 326, 721 P.2d at 394. {46} The State concedes, and we agree, that the confidential medical records at issue in this case were not a proper subject of discovery because Defendant did not place his mental health at issue at any phase of his trial. See Roper, 1996-NMCA-073, ¶ 15 (stating that a not-guilty plea does not place a condition at issue for purposes of Rule 11-504(D)(3)). We do not agree with Defendant that the erroneous release of those records requires reversal of his convictions or his death sentence. In order to warrant reversal, a defendant must demonstrate that an error of this type is prejudicial. See State v. Jett, 111 N.M. 309, 312, 805 P.2d 78, 81 (1991); Rule 11-103(A) NMRA 1999 (Error may not be predicated upon a ruling which admits or excludes evidence unless a substantial right of the party is affected....). In this case, Defendant has not shown any prejudice resulting from the erroneous release of his medical records because none of the records were admitted at trial and the trial court took precautions to ensure that Dr. Matthews did not offer any testimony that was based on the records or any aspect of Defendant's medical history. {47} With regard to Defendant's other objections to the testimony of Dr. Matthews, we note that these objections were not raised in a timely manner at trial. Rule 11-103(A)(1) (requiring an objection stating the specific ground of objection in order to challenge a trial court's admission or exclusion of evidence). Thus, we only review for fundamental or plain error. See State v. Begay, 1998-NMSC-029, ¶¶ 20-23, 125 N.M. 541, 964 P.2d 102. {48} Dr. Matthews was called to testify about a statement attributed to Defendant by one of the inmate witnesses to whom Defendant confessed his crimes. The inmate witness testified that he asked Defendant why he killed the victim and that Defendant replied: I don't know. It was like I was standing outside of myself watching myself do this. Dr. Matthews reviewed this testimony, concluded that Defendant was describing a dissociative experience, and testified that dissociative experiences are a common way of dealing with situations that are unusual, highly charged, or stressful. He also testified that a dissociative experience does not indicate a mental condition that would negate a defendant's capacity to form a deliberate intent to kill. {49} Deliberate intent is an element of the crime of first degree murder with which Defendant was charged in this case, see UJI 14-201 1999, and whether a dissociative experience affected his capacity to form such intent was at issue because of Defendant's statement that he was outside of himself when he killed the victim. Further, given Defendant's failure to preserve the issue of evidentiary reliability for appellate review, we cannot say that it was plain error to conclude that Dr. Matthews's opinion about the relationship between dissociative experiences and the capacity to form a deliberate intent met the requirements of Rule 11-702. In particular, we do not agree with Defendant that the psychological significance of dissociative experiences or their relationship to a person's capacity to form a deliberate intent to kill are matters of common knowledge for which an expert opinion is unnecessary. {50} Further, this case is distinguishable from Chapman, 104 N.M. at 326, 721 P.2d at 394. In that case, the defendant asserted a defense of insanity, and the State presented in rebuttal an expert who, while testifying that there was no direct relationship between paranoid schizophrenia and violence, recalled two exceptions in which notorious murders were committed by paranoid schizophrenics: the Son of Sam serial killer in New York, and an individual in California who killed a girl by driving his car onto a crowded sidewalk. Id. at 325-26, 721 P.2d at 393-94. In Chapman, both the State and the defendant agreed to a limiting instruction that would have cured the error in admitting the testimony by instructing the jury to disregard it, but the trial court refused to give the limiting instruction. See id. {51} In contrast, the trial court in the present case had no opportunity to give a limiting instruction because Defendant did not request one. Further, Dr. Matthews did not testify about any notorious criminal nor equate Defendant's mental condition with that of another. Thus, we conclude that the admission of Dr. Matthews' testimony was neither fundamental nor plain error.