Opinion ID: 2754971
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Andrews’s Testimony

Text: [¶21] Walton argues that the court abused its discretion by excluding Andrews’s testimony. Because Walton obtained a favorable result in the trial court, and we affirm the court’s opinion, we would not ordinarily reach this issue. In re Johnna M., 2006 ME 46, ¶ 7, 903 A.2d 331; see also Storer v. Dep’t of Envtl. Prot., 656 A.2d 1191, 1192 (Me. 1995); Ullis v. Town of Boothbay Harbor, 459 A.2d 153, 155-56 (Me. 1983). Nevertheless, we note that the court did not commit an abuse of discretion by excluding Andrews’s testimony based on its conclusion that the forensic interview was not undertaken for the purpose of diagnosis or treatment. Andrews’s role was to collect and assess evidence of abuse. When an interview is conducted primarily for the purpose of collecting evidence and determining whether abuse occurred, the court may conclude that statements made during that interview are not made for purposes of diagnosis or treatment. See M.R. Evid. 803(4); Handrahan, 2011 ME 15, ¶ 16, 12 A.3d 79 (observing that, where the interviewer “conducted a forensic interview of the child in her capacity as co-director of the Spurwink Child Abuse Program” it was “not clear that the child’s statements . . . were made for purposes of medical diagnosis 15 or treatment”). The court did not abuse its discretion by excluding evidence of statements the child made during the forensic interview.