Opinion ID: 1342405
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Exclusion of Dr. Steedman's psychiatric opinion

Text: As noted, Dr. Steedman is board certified in both neurology and psychiatry. When Mercer sought to elicit brief testimony from Dr. Steedman as a psychiatrist, the State objected, claiming Dr. Steedman was only disclosed as an expert in neurology. The basis of the State's objection arose from the nonexistent discovery order, discussed above. The trial court entertained the objection, and Mercer proceeded to make an offer of proof. The offer of proof of Dr. Steedman's psychiatric opinion comprises a mere half page in this voluminous record. The thrust of Dr. Steedman's psychiatric opinion was that the types of [Mercer's] abnormalities ... are a cumulative effect on poor judgment, depression, anxiety, thought disorders, [and] paranoia. The State's objection was sustained, and Dr. Steedman was prevented from rendering a psychiatric opinion. Although the basis of the State's objection was specious, no reversible error is present. The excluded evidence was presented to the jury through other witnesses, especially Dr. Schwartz-Watts, without objection. Even defense counsel acknowledged that the proffered psychiatric opinion testimony of Dr. Steedman certainly ... mirrors [and] dove-tail[s] with Dr. Schwartz-Watts. As a result, Mercer sustained no prejudice from the exclusion of this cumulative evidence. State v. Graham, 314 S.C. 383, 386, 444 S.E.2d 525, 527 (1994) (noting that a harmless error analysis depends upon a host of factors, one of which is whether the excluded evidence was cumulative).