Opinion ID: 1158206
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Disposition of Alberico and Marquez

Text: In Alberico, the Court of Appeals erred in overturning the defendant's convictions. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting expert opinion testimony on PTSD. Although he incorrectly characterized the testimony as inherently reliable, the trial judge correctly found that the expert testimony was grounded in valid scientific principle and was probative under Rule 702, and he correctly ruled that it was not unduly prejudicial under Rule 403. Moreover, the State's expert confined her testimony to whether the complainant's PTSD symptoms were consistent with sexual abuse, and she did not pass upon her credibility, nor did she use the term RTS before the jury. In Marquez, however, both of the State's experts testified that the complainant was not fabricating her story, and one of the experts identified the defendant as her alleged abuser. Defense counsel objected to this testimony and moved for a mistrial. Besides the testimony of the complainant, there was no other direct evidence of sexual abuse in Marquez except for the testimony of the experts. Because that case boiled down to a swearing match between the defendant and the complainant, it is likely that the expert testimony pertaining to the credibility of the complainant and the identity of the perpetrator was instrumental in the jury's decision to convict. Notwithstanding the trial court's curative instruction, it was prejudicial error to allow the experts to stray from the issue of sexual abuse and testify as to the complainant's truthfulness and the identity of the perpetrator. The trial judge also erred in Marquez by ruling that PTSD testimony would assist the jury to understand the behavior of sexually abused children. That was never an issue in the case. The defense simply claimed that no sexual abuse happened. The defense did not claim that the complainant's behavior after the alleged incidents was inconsistent with that of a victim of sexual abuse. Accordingly, the PTSD testimony could not have been admissible to rebut that claim.