Opinion ID: 780714
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Psychological Tests

Text: 58 Crowley's second claim of improper limitation on cross-examination may be disposed of more quickly. Crowley claims that the trial court erred in preventing cross-examination of Linda Bulone, the Academy's Medical Administrative Assistant, who testified that Vincent called her on September 28 to report Crowley's assault. The defense sought to examine Bulone concerning a battery of psychological tests that had been administered to Vincent in connection with her clearance for sea duty. 59 This Court considered the standards for admission of evidence of a witness's psychological condition in United States v. Sasso, 59 F.3d 341 (2d Cir.1995). The Court pointed out that while evidence of a witness's psychological history may be relevant to the witness's credibility, courts should carefully weigh the probative value of such evidence, by considering such factors as the nature of the psychological problem, ... the temporal recency or remoteness of the history, ... and whether the witness suffered from the problem at the time of the events to which she is to testify. Id. at 347-48 (internal citations omitted). 60 Here, there was no basis for concluding that Vincent suffered from any psychological problem whatsoever. The impetus for the defense request was an FBI report in which Bulone was reported as having expressed surprise at the extent of the battery of tests demanded of Vincent before being cleared for sea duty. App. at 533-35. Judge Mishler, like Judge Seybert before him, examined Vincent's Academy files, including the results of this psychological testing, and found nothing suggesting any psychological problem reflecting on her credibility. Id. at 511; Govt. Br. at GA-3. Their evaluation is confirmed by the fact that after undergoing the test battery referred to, Vincent was cleared for sea duty, which she performed without incident. Moreover, Bulone's reference to the extent of testing, on which the defense relied, reflected not a concern about Vincent's stability, but rather her sense that the testing was inappropriate and was inconsistent with established procedures. App. at 534. 61 Chnapkova v. Koh, 985 F.2d 79 (2d Cir. 1993), on which Crowley relies, is entirely distinguishable. There, we held that the trial court abused its discretion in excluding evidence that the witness was both paranoid and delusional and suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Id. at 81. Here, as in Sasso, there was no indication that [Vincent] was delusional or paranoid, or had any difficulties in memory or perception. Sasso, 59 F.3d at 348. Our conclusion that Judge Mishler did not abuse his discretion follows a fortiori from Sasso, since here there is no indication of any adverse psychological condition at all, while the witness there suffered from a diagnosed, if situational and not-unpredictable, depression. Id.