Opinion ID: 1556500
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Dr. Katz's testimony was relevant.

Text: ¶ 44. In light of the testimony regarding Tammy's history of migraine headaches and her symptoms during the evening of the alleged assault, Dr. Katz's testimony about migraines and how they may impair sufferers' ability to recall events accurately was relevant. Rule 401 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence explains that evidence is relevant when it has a tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action [e.g., the fact that Tammy accurately recalled the events of the evening in question] more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Miss. R. Evid. 401. See also Investor Res. Servs., Inc. v. Cato, 15 So.3d 412, 417 (Miss.2009) (Rule 401 favors admission of the evidence if it has any probative value. `[T]he threshold for admissibility of relevant evidence is not great. Evidence is relevant if it has any tendency to prove a consequential fact.' (internal citation omitted)). In addition, Rule 702 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence provides that [i]f scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise.... Miss. R. Evid. 702. ¶ 45. Dr. Katz's testimony would have assisted the jury in understanding what bearing Tammy having a migraine that evening had on the case, and in determining whether Tammy's recollection of that evening's events had been impaired. The ability of a witness  not to mention the prosecution's key witness  to observe and recollect the assault about which she is testifying is of utmost relevance. ¶ 46. Relevant evidence may be excluded if the probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence. Miss. R. Evid. 403. As discussed above, the testimony introduced at trial regarding Tammy's history of migraines and her symptoms during the evening of the alleged assault makes the probative value of Dr. Katz's testimony significant. Second, the only danger (of those dangers listed in Rule 403) that the State raised during discussions of the admissibility of Dr. Katz's testimony was the danger of confusion of the jury. While Dr. Katz's testimony likely would have caused the jurors to consider the possibility that Tammy's ability to observe or recollect that evening's events was impaired, it would not have confused the jurors, and it certainly would not have confused them to the extent that the confusion would have outweighed the probative value. Furthermore, the State would have had the opportunity during cross-examination of Dr. Katz to attack the weight and worth of his testimony. ¶ 47. Even the trial court seemed to agree that when a victim testifies that she had a migraine on the date and time of an alleged assault, expert testimony regarding migraines and their effects on those who suffer from them would be relevant. At the hearing regarding Abernathy's Motion for Judgment of Acquittal Notwithstanding the Jury Verdict or, in the Alternative, Motion for New Trial, which occurred nearly six months after the trial, the trial court heard arguments regarding the relevance of Dr. Katz's testimony, and in closing remarks stated: If I remember correctly, I think the lady testified that she had a headache, but it was not a migraine headache, that she had them before. And if she didn't have a migraine headache, then Dr. Katz's testimony was not necessary. It was not relevant. If she had testified that she had them, experienced a migraine headache that night, then you've got a whole different situation. She didn't testify to that. That was something that the defendant brought to the court's attention, and since he was drunk, I don't know he knew that she had a migraine headache. So, the motion is denied. (Emphasis added.) Again, Tammy did testify that she had a migraine the evening of the alleged assault; the trial court did not correctly recall Tammy's testimony. At trial, the trial court itself noted that Tammy had testified that she had a headache and that she used the term migraine to describe it. Thus, but for the trial court's erroneous recollection that Tammy had testified that she did not have a migraine on the evening in question, it appears the trial court would have found Dr. Katz's testimony relevant. ¶ 48. It is true that the trial court, earlier in the proceeding, found Dr. Katz's testimony irrelevant on other grounds  those grounds being, namely: 1) no testimony of a medical nature was offered that would classify Tammy's condition on the evening in question as a migraine, and 2) Dr. Katz would not be testifying to the effects that migraines have on Tammy specifically, but rather to the effects migraines have, generally, on people who suffer from them. As just noted, however, in the trial court's final remarks on the issue of Dr. Katz's testimony, it agreed that when a victim testifies that she had a migraine on the date and time of an alleged assault, expert testimony regarding the effects of migraines would be relevant.