Opinion ID: 1789377
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Under the Influence of Extreme Mental or Emotional Disturbance

Text: Philmore contends that the trial court erred in rejecting the statutory mitigating circumstance that Philmore was under the influence of an extreme mental or emotional disturbance. A trial court has broad discretion in determining the applicability of a particular mitigating circumstance, and this Court will uphold the trial court's determination of the applicability of a mitigator when supported by competent substantial evidence. See San Martin v. State, 705 So.2d 1337, 1348-49 (Fla.1997). Moreover, with regard to the issue of expert psychological evaluations of a defendant's mental health, this Court has explained that expert testimony alone does not require a finding of extreme mental or emotional disturbance. Even uncontroverted opinion testimony can be rejected, especially when it is hard to reconcile with the other evidence presented in the case. Knight v. State, 746 So.2d 423, 436 (Fla.1998) (quoting Foster v. State, 679 So.2d 747, 755 (Fla.1996)). In rejecting the application of this statutory mitigator, the trial court in its sentencing order explained: The defendant offered the testimony of Dr. Robert Berland in support of this statutory mitigator. Dr. Berland testified that he reviewed the defendant's personal records, including school records and those obtained from the Department of Corrections, as well as interviewed various family members of the defendant. He also conducted MMPI and WAIS testing. It was the testimony of Dr. Berland that the defendant suffered from a psychotic disturbance which contributed to his criminal behavior. He further testified that there may be evidence of sequela from a brain injury as well as posttraumatic stress disorder. The state offered the testimony of Dr. Gregory Landrum. Dr. Landrum testified that tests utilized by Dr. Berland are outdated, which was ultimately acknowledged by Dr. Berland as it relates to the MMPI. Dr. Landrum opined that there is no credible evidence to suggest that the defendant suffered from psychosis or brain damage. Both experts agreed that the defendant has a[sic] anti social personality disorder. The testimony being that the nature of the disorder is that the defendant has a disregard for the rights of others and it reflects criminal thinking and behavior. It is undeniable that the defendant has experienced some difficulties in his life. The Court will address these below. The Court however simply cannot from Dr. Berland's diagnosis which was strongly rebutted on cross examination and the expert's opinion that the defendant has a personality/character disorder find that on November 14, 1997, the defendant acted under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance. The facts and circumstances of the homicide indicate a coherent and well thought out plan which spanned over the course of two days. The abduction and homicide were part of a deliberate plan. Further, there was no evidence that the defendant was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the commission of the homicide. There simply is no record evidence to suggest the defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of commission of the homicide. The facts themselves belie any suggestion by Dr. Berland that the defendant acted while under extreme mental or emotional disturbance on November 14, 1997. For the reasons stated above the Court rejects the existence of this statutory mitigating circumstance. We conclude that the trial court's rejection of this statutory mitigator is supported by competent substantial evidence. As acknowledged by the trial court in this case, although Dr. Berland testified that Philmore suffered from a chronic mental illness and was mildly to moderately psychotic, the State strongly rebutted many of Dr. Berland's conclusions on cross-examination. For example, Dr. Berland explained that the use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) played a significant role in his overall diagnosis that Philmore was psychotic. However, on cross-examination, Dr. Berland conceded that he utilized an older version of the MMPI, which overestimated the degree of mental illness in black males by as much as 90%. Moreover, Dr. Berland admitted that none of the school records or other medical records ever diagnosed Philmore as psychotic. Although Dr. Berland explained that he used the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) in order to determine whether Philmore suffered from brain damage, he admitted that there was controversy in the medical community over using the WAIS for purposes other than determining an individual's IQ. Further, Dr. Berland stated that Philmore had an IQ of 98, which was only two points below average. In addition, one of the State's expert witnesses, Dr. Landrum, expressly disagreed with Dr. Berland's conclusion that Philmore suffered from any brain damage or psychosis, and stated that no statutory mitigators were established in this case. Dr. Landrum took issue with Dr. Berland's use of the WAIS to find brain damage. Dr. Landrum also explained that Philmore tested normal on the screening test for the Luria-Nebraska neuropsychological battery, which Dr. Landrum testified was a commonly recognized indicator of brain damage. Dr. Landrum stated that based on Philmore's score on the Luria-Nebraska screening test, there was a 95% chance that Philmore would show no signs of brain damage on the full battery. Given this conflict in testimony, and the trial court's thorough consideration of this issue as reflected in the sentencing order, we reject Philmore's claim that the trial court erred in failing to find this statutory mitigator. See Rose v. State, 787 So.2d 786, 802-03 (Fla.2001) (holding that trial court did not err in rejecting mitigator that defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance at time of offense where State successfully attacked the experts' findings).