Opinion ID: 2604587
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Dr Fall's testimony

Text: Hayes complains the trial court erred when it admitted expert testimony from Dr. Fall which was based, in part, on the history provided by the victim's mother. When the State called Dr. Fall to testify, she began her testimony by explaining that she examined the victim on March 30, 1994. During voir dire by defense counsel, Dr. Fall stated that she examined the victim to evaluate her for signs of sexual molestation and obtained a history of the victim from the mother. Counsel objected to the testimony. After hearing testimony from Dr. Fall that generally examinations for sexual molestation include obtaining a history from the parent and that requesting some history is a normal practice, the trial court overruled the objection. Dr. Fall testified about her conversation with the victim and the victim's description of what Hayes did to her. Dr. Fall also related the mother's brief reiteration of statements made to her by the victim as part of the history. The mother's comments were much less specific and merely cumulative to the victim's description. Dr. Fall then testified that, in her expert opinion, the victim's behavior was consistent with a child who had been sexually abused. She based her opinion on the history given to her from the victim and the mother and the fact that children the victim's age do not have the imagination to make up stories like the one related to her by the victim. After Dr. Fall completed her testimony, counsel moved for a mistrial, claiming Dr. Fall improperly stated an opinion on the ultimate issue. The court denied that motion. Hayes claims Dr. Fall's testimony does not fall within Rule 803(4) of the Wyoming Rules of Evidence and should not have been admitted by the trial court. WYO. R. EVID. 803(4) provides: The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule, even though the declarant is available as a witness:       (4) Statements for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment. Statements made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment and describing medical history, or past or present symptoms, pain or sensations, or the inception or general character of the cause or external source thereof insofar as reasonably pertinent to diagnosis or treatment;       Clearly, those statements made to Dr. Fall by the victim are admissible under WYO. R. EVID. 803(4). The statements made by the victim to the witness were consistent with the purpose for which the witness became involved with the victim and Dr. Fall relied on those statements in connection with her diagnosis of sexual abuse. See Blake v. State, 933 P.2d 474, 477-78 (Wyo.1997); Betzle v. State, 847 P.2d 1010, 1017 (Wyo.1993); Owen v. State, 902 P.2d 190, 195 (Wyo.1995). Hayes also argues that Dr. Fall's testimony was not admissible because it was based, in part, upon statements given to her by the victim's mother. In McGinn, we addressed a similar argument, where the testifying expert psychologist related information given to her by the defendant's sister concerning sexual abuse perpetrated upon her by the defendant. McGinn, 928 P.2d at 1162. In McGinn, we quoted CHRISTOPHER B. MUELLER & LAIRD C. KIRKPATRICK, FEDERAL EVIDENCE § 358, at 691 (footnotes omitted): Testimony presenting psychiatric and psychological evaluations can rest on out-of-court statements by the subject and by other examiners, as well as statements by lay people who know the subject (friends, family, nonprofessional care-takers). The hearsay doctrine does not block such uses of statements by the subject, and statements by other examiners would likely be admissible. Again the point is that the expert testimony may rest on them regardless whether they are proved or fit an exception, and even if the expert did not learn of them by firsthand observation, so long as his source was reasonable. Both the defense and the government regularly use such testimony when the issue is sanity (criminal responsibility) or competency to stand trial, and similar testimony is admissible in other contexts. McGinn, 928 P.2d at 1162 (emphasis in original). Although out-of-court statements made by a third party ordinarily may not be used to prove the truth of the matter asserted, such statements may be allowed for the limited purpose of showing the basis of an expert's opinion, so long as other experts in the field would reasonably rely on similar evidence. WYO. R. EVID. 703; [1] McGinn, 928 P.2d at 1162-63; LP v. Natrona County Dep't of Pub. Assistance and Social Svs., 679 P.2d 976, 1004 (Wyo.1984). The State properly provided a foundation for the evidence presented by asking Dr. Fall to explain: 1) where she obtained her information; 2) that in child sexual abuse cases it is normal to obtain information from family members; 3) that she relied upon this information as a basis for her diagnosis; and 4) how she relied upon that information to come to her conclusions. Dr. Fall's testimony concerning the mother's statements were not offered for the truth of the matter asserted, the evidence was relevant because it established a basis for the doctor's expert opinion, and her testimony was her own opinion, not that of others. See McGinn, 928 P.2d at 1163. Therefore, we hold that the State properly laid the foundation for Dr. Fall's testimony and the evidence was properly admitted under WYO. R. EVID. 703. Additionally, as we noted earlier, the mother's statements to Dr. Fall were less specific and merely cumulative of the abuse described by the victim. Contrary to his claim, Hayes was not prejudiced by Dr. Fall's testimony concerning the mother's statements. The trial court exercised sound judgment with regard to what was right under the circumstances and without doing so arbitrarily or capriciously. The trial court did not abuse its discretion. Hayes also appeals the trial court's denial of his motion for a mistrial. After Dr. Fall stated her opinion that the victim had been sexually abused, Hayes moved for a mistrial because the doctor had improperly given her opinion on the ultimate issue. We have held: Because the question of whether a child has been molested is generally beyond common experience, allowing an expert to testify on the issue assists the trier of fact. A layman observing the same medical evidence as [the doctor] observed would have difficulty knowing how to interpret the data. In Townsend v. State, 103 Nev. 113, 734 P.2d 705, 708 (1987), the Nevada Supreme Court found it was appropriate for an expert to testify on the issue of whether a child had been sexually abused: [I]t was proper for the State's expert to express an opinion on the issue of whether the child had, in fact, been sexually assaulted or abused. Such an opinion, although embracing an ultimate issue, represents both the peculiar expertise and consummate purpose of an expert's analysis. Because [the doctor] was an expert and her opinion assisted the trier of fact, we hold her testimony was admissible pursuant to W.R.E. 702. [The doctor's] testimony was also not to be excluded merely because it embraced an ultimate issue. W.R.E. 704 allows opinions to be given on ultimate factual issues. Montoya v. State, 822 P.2d 363, 366-67 (Wyo. 1991) (citations omitted). Under Rule 704 [2] Dr. Fall's opinion that the victim was sexually abused did not constitute inappropriate expert opinion testimony in this case. The trial court did not err in overruling the objection to Dr. Fall's testimony or denying the motion for a mistrial.