Opinion ID: 1730571
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Did the Court of Appeal Give Undue Weight to Dr. Zimmerman's Expert Testimony?

Text: The court of appeal erred in crediting Dr. Zimmerman's testimony over that of the other evidence presented in this case. We have often noted that expert testimony is not controlling, and that, while helpful, it may be rejected by the trier-of-fact. State v. Lefevre, 419 So.2d 862 (La.1982). In this case, the trial court clearly disagreed with Dr. Zimmerman's opinion that Green was unable to comprehend his Miranda rights, finding the proffer made by the defense too insubstantial to even warrant reopening the motion to suppress. While the court of appeal's statement that Dr. Zimmerman's testimony was uncontradicted is in some sense true, the court of appeal improperly ignored the trial judge's finding that the impact of Dr. Zimmerman's testimony was insufficient to warrant a reversal of his prior ruling that the State had met its burden of proof for admitting the confession. [15] While the trial court below was not free to capriciously reject the testimony of Dr. Zimmerman, the record reveals that the trial judge's disagreement with Dr. Zimmerman's ultimate opinion that Green was incapable of understanding his Miranda rights is adequately supported by the record. Dr. Zimmerman testified that Green was only mildly retarded, a condition he stated was shared by around 3% of the population. See State v. Brown, 414 So.2d 689, 696 (La. 1982) ( citations omitted ) (even moderate mental retardation and low intelligence or illiteracy do not of themselves vitiate the ability to knowingly and intelligently waive constitutional rights). Dr. Zimmerman further testified that Green was educable, and that he could be made to understand such things as his Miranda rights. It is conceivable that the trial court accepted Dr. Zimmerman's testimony and found that Green's prior encounters with the criminal justice system, which he specifically referred to in denying the defense's proffer to reopen the suppression hearing, had constituted just such a learning process. In addition, we note that Dr. Zimmerman testified that he spent only nine (9) hours with Green, much of it occupied in giving the defendant various psychological tests. When testimony such as Dr. Zimmerman's is considered, it must be remembered that it is not only the reliability of the psychological expert's opinion which is at stake, but the credibility of the defendant as well. Compare Brooks, supra at 14-15, 648 So.2d at 374 (defendant characterized as a malingerer... capable of selectively exercising discernment when it suited his purposes). Furthermore, the defense presented no hard medical evidence, e.g. psychiatric testimony, skull x-rays, cat scans, electroencephalogram results or other tangible diagnostic evidence of brain damage, to substantiate Dr. Zimmerman's opinion. Compare Brooks, supra at 14 n. 12, 648 So.2d at 374 n. 12 (psychiatric testimony linking defendant's alleged mental retardation to birth trauma). The trial court did not abuse his discretion in finding that Green was able to understand his rights, and therefore knowingly and intelligently waive them.