Opinion ID: 2385655
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Right to Present a Defense

Text: Relying upon Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 35 L.Ed.2d 297 (1973) and Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14, 87 S.Ct. 1920, 18 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1967), appellant next asserts that his constitutional right to present a defense was violated by the trial court's ruling that defense counsel could not elicit testimony from Patrice Beckett to lay a foundation that appellant's behavior on May 6, 1980 was dissimilar to behavior she had observed while he was under the influence of PCP. He argues that such testimony was vital to his insanity defense, since it would have helped to convince the jury that a mental illness, not a drug, caused him to commit the homicide. We find no error in the trial court's curtailment of Beckett's testimony. At trial, defense counsel recalled Beckett as a witness for the defense. In response to questions, Beckett stated that she and appellant had smoked marijuana and PCP at times since they began seeking one another in September, 1979, and that she could tell whether he was high. [20] The prosecutor objected, however, when defense counsel sought to have Beckett respond to the question of whether PCP caused appellant to be violent, and whether appellant's behavior on May 6, 1980 was of the sort she had seen after he smoked PCP. These objections were sustained, and the court ruled that defense counsel could not ask Beckett to give her opinion as to whether appellant's behavior on the critical date was caused by PCP or was dissimilar to behavior she had observed after he used PCP. Under District of Columbia law, lay witnesses may give an opinion about the mental condition of an individual based upon their own observations. Riley v. United States, 291 A.2d 190, 193 (D.C.1972); Naples v. United States, 120 U.S.App.D.C. 123, 130, 344 F.2d 508, 515 (1964); De Bruin v. De Bruin, 90 U.S.App.D.C. 236, 237, 195 F.2d 763, 764 (1952). Still, as a general matter, a lay witness' testimony relates facts derived from his own knowledge and observation, not opinions and conclusions drawn from the facts. United States v. Pierson, 164 U.S.App.D.C. 82, 85, 503 F.2d 173, 176 (1974). Recognizing the thin line between facts and opinion, however, the circuit court in Pierson, supra, noted that it accords the trial court broad discretion to determine whether to permit opinion testimony. Id. 164 U.S.App.D.C. at 85, 503 F.2d at 176. In the case at bar, we doubt the propriety of defense counsel's questions to Beckett as to a possible causal relationship between appellant's acts and the use of PCP, even under Riley, Naples, and De Bruin, supra . In any event, the trial court did not err in disallowing testimony in response to counsel's questions on these specific matters. The court fully permitted questioning as to appellant's conduct and behavior both at times after he had taken PCP and on May 6, 1980; beyond this point, the court could properly rule that it was incumbent upon the jury to draw its own conclusions. Indeed, upon review of the record we are in agreement with the government that defense counsel, despite objections by the prosecutor, successfully elicited the very testimony he sought. A fair reading of the record shows that in response to questions, Beckett described appellant's behavior in circumstances after he had taken PCP. She also stated that appellant's violent behavior was not necessarily associated with PCP and that she did not view his behavior on May 6, 1980 to be similar to the behavior she had observed at times after he had taken PCP. [21] Moreover, Beckett clearly testified that in the instances in which appellant had acted violently after taking PCP, he would have been violent even if not under the influence of the drug. In short, there is no merit to appellant's contention that the trial court's ruling violated his right to present a defense. The jury could have concluded, on the basis of Beckett's testimony, that drugs did not precipitate appellant's violent behavior on May 6, 1980.