Opinion ID: 1959682
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Directed VerdictMental Retardation

Text: Johnson contends that the trial court erred in overruling his motions for directed verdict on the issue of mental retardation. He urges that the evidence he presented was sufficient to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he is mentally retarded. As discussed earlier in section II, Johnson had the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that he is mentally retarded. When he moved for a directed verdict at the close of the prosecution's case, he had not presented any evidence of mental retardation, much less established his claim as a matter of law. The trial court did not err in overruling these motions.
Johnson filed motions for a directed verdict. A motion for a directed verdict is not appropriate in a criminal proceeding. The proper motion in a criminal case is a motion for judgment of acquittal. Rule 27.07(a). This is anomalous in this case, as the issue relates solely to the punishment and not to Johnson's guilt for first degree murder. In essence, Johnson sought to have the trial court direct the jury to return a punishment of life imprisonment. Under these circumstances the Court will consider the substance of the motion rather than its label and review it as a motion for acquittal under Rule 27.07(a). In so reviewing the overruling of a motion for acquittal, the Court must determine if the State presented sufficient evidence to make a submissible case. State v. St. George, 215 S.W.3d 341, 345 (Mo.App.2007). The appellate courts must determine whether there is sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror may have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. The Court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the judgment, disregarding any contrary evidence and granting the State all reasonable inferences from the evidence. Id. Deference should be given to the superior position of the jury to assess the credibility of witnesses and the weight and value of their testimony. Id.
Under Missouri law, mental retardation is statutorily defined as: a condition involving substantial limitations in general functioning characterized by significantly subaverage intellectual functioning with continual extensive related deficits and limitations in two or more adaptive behaviors such as communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure and work, which conditions are manifested and documented before eighteen years of age. Section 565.030.6.
Johnson's expert witness Dr. Keyes, a school psychologist, testified that to determine whether an individual has subaverage intellectual functioning, as required under section 565.030.6, individualized intelligence tests should be used to ascertain intelligence quotient (I.Q.). Johnson presented evidence of multiple I.Q. tests that he had taken throughout his life, with scores of 77 in 1968, [4] 63 in 1972, 95 in 1979, 78 in 1994, and 84 in 1995. After this case was remanded for a third penalty-phase proceeding to determine whether Johnson suffered from mental retardation, he was given two more I.Q. tests. The first test was given in December 2003 by Dr. Keyes, who, by his own admission, is not a clinical psychologist and is not qualified to diagnose mental defects other than retardation. Based on his testing, Dr. Keyes determined that Johnson had a full-scale score of 67, a verbal score of 69, and a performance score of 70. The second test that Johnson took was administered in July 2004 by a psychometrist, who worked for the State's expert, Dr. Heisler, a licensed psychologist. Based on this test, Johnson received a full-scale I.Q. score of 67, a verbal score of 67, and a performance score of 73. However, the jury heard testimony that Dr. Heisler believed Johnson was malingering. [5] Both Dr. Smith, a clinical psychologist and an addiction specialist who was also one of Johnson's expert witnesses, and Dr. Keyes admitted that, for the purposes of testing, an individual can fake having a lower I.Q. than he actually has. But Dr. Keyes stated that he did not think that Johnson was malingering. At trial, Dr. Smith explained that an I.Q. score below 70 is indicative of mental retardation, whereas an I.Q. score of 77 is not. Dr. Keyes testified that an I.Q. score lower than 75 would raise concern about mental retardation. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV), [6] a person with an I.Q. of 70 or lower has significantly subaverage intellectual functioning, but it is possible for an individual with an I.Q. between 70 and 75 to be diagnosed as mentally retarded if they exhibit significant deficits in adaptive behavior. Additionally, as explained by Dr. Parwatikar, a forensic psychiatrist for the State who had evaluated Johnson in 1995 regarding his competency to stand trial, even though a person is found to possess below average intelligence, it does not necessarily mean that he is mentally retarded.
Dr. Smith and Dr. Keyes both testified that Johnson had deficits in many categories of adaptive behavior. Both concluded that he had limitations in four of the nine adaptive behaviors that are identified under Missouri's definition of mental retardation. These areas included communication, home living, social skills, and functional academics. Dr. Keyes further found that Johnson had deficits in community use, self-direction, health and safety, and leisure and work.
Dr. Smith testified that Johnson had a very concrete understanding of verbal communication, but had difficulty with written communication. Johnson's ex-girlfriend testified, however, that he wrote to her frequently while he was in prison. Dr. Keyes stated that although Johnson's expressive communication was somewhat better than his receptive communication, Johnson had communication deficiencies. He conceded, however, that during his interview, Johnson was cooperative, friendly, had good verbal communication, and was oriented as to the time and place. But Dr. Keyes also testified that because communication is sometimes environmentally specific, he believed this behavior was a result of Johnson being in prison and that if he had not been in prison at the time his verbal skills may have been worse. The jury also heard testimony from several more witnesses indicating that Johnson was able to communicate with others. The officers who interviewed him during the murder investigation stated that he conversed normally and he did nothing that indicated he did not know what he was being asked. The probation officer that Johnson was assigned to at the time the murders took place also testified that he was able to communicate with Johnson. One of the employees that worked for the convenience store Johnson robbed stated that Johnson had no problem communicating or making purchases when he came into the store prior to the murders. The jury also had the opportunity to evaluate Johnson's ability to communicate with State's expert, Dr. Heisler, when it watched a one hour and 15 minute recorded interview from 2004.
When asked about any deficiencies Johnson may have had in home living, Dr. Smith said that he was not able to assess this type of adaptive behavior when Johnson was living in a cell. Yet, he still testified later that since Johnson predominately relied on the women in his life to perform home life functions, this was one of the categories in which Johnson had exhibited a deficit. Dr. Keyes believed Johnson to be deficient in this area since, at the time of the murders, he lived with his girlfriend, who paid the rent.
Dr. Smith testified during direct examination that Johnson had the ability to form connections with people and had no limitations with regard to his social skills. He testified later during redirect, however, that Johnson has difficulty in his ability to interpret social situations and respond appropriately. Dr. Keyes stated that he believed Johnson to be deficient in the area of social skills since he did not have any close friends. In forming his opinion, he used information that he learned from interviews with Johnson's brothers and sisters, all of whom said that when it came to socialization skills, Johnson's behaviors were severely deficient. Since Johnson's siblings provided this information knowing that their brother could be sentenced to death if he was not found to be mentally retarded, the jury may have doubted the accuracy of this testimony.
Dr. Smith testified that he believed Johnson had a deficit in community use. When asked what type of behavior led to this conclusion, he replied that Johnson had been unable to access treatment for his addiction because he did not know how to go about doing so. Johnson's parole officer and his pastor, however, both stated that he sought help from them for his alcohol and drug problems. Dr. Keyes also testified that he thought Johnson to be deficient in this area. He based this opinion on the fact that Johnson did not use public transportation on his own, did not keep a job, and did not go out in the community to do things like see a movie or play golf. There was other testimony, however, that Johnson frequently visited and purchased items from the convenience store. Additionally, the day after he committed the murders, he called for a cab to go to the mall and used cash to purchase a piece of jewelry that he had previously looked at for his girlfriend for Valentine's Day. He also took a cab ride home, and he paid and tipped the driver in cash.
Dr. Keyes indicated that he believed Johnson was deficient in the adaptive behavior of self-direction, but during his testimony, he stated without explanation or example that Johnson's self-direction and motivation were not good at all. Yet, Dr. Keyes later admitted that Johnson took logical, precise, intelligent steps to prepare, execute, and avoid apprehension for the murders. He stated this behavior indicated that Johnson was very goal-oriented in carrying out his plan. He explained, however, that because Johnson's actions violated the law, such behavior is not considered adaptive.
Dr. Keyes concluded that Johnson had a deficiency in maintaining a safe environment in that he did not live in an environment that was healthy where he ate properly, slept properly, had no drug involvement, and had hobbies that were not dangerous or illegal. Other evidence indicated, however, that Johnson did make attempts to maintain a safe living environment. Prior to committing the murders, Johnson sought help from his probation officer for his drug problem. While he was in prison, he asked to be placed in protective custody to avoid retaliation for a drug debt that he owed to another prisoner. In addition, when he was living at a halfway house in 1993, he successfully completed a substance abuse program.
Dr. Smith found that Johnson could do basic mathematics, but believed he was deficient in functional academics because he was very limited in his ability to do anything more complex, such as multiplication, division, long subtraction, or forming a budget. Dr. Keyes testified that although Johnson's academic work had succeeded somewhat, it was probably because he had been living in a highly structured environment for the last 12 years.
When asked whether Johnson was deficient in the area of leisure and work, Dr. Smith stated that he did not know. Dr. Keyes found that he was deficient because drug use was his leisure activity. Dr. Keyes acknowledged, however, that Johnson used to enjoy horseback riding when he was younger. He also admitted that Johnson held a job while in prison. Johnson's probation officer testified that he was capable of working and that he had worked before, but he did not hold a job very long because he was not motivated to work. Dr. Keyes also believed that Johnson was not motivated to work.
Evidence was presented that Johnson was evaluated by a psychiatrist and two psychologists, all of whom had determined that he was not mentally retarded. Johnson was evaluated by Dr. Smith in 1996 and 1999 prior to earlier penalty-phase proceedings, and he likewise found that Johnson was not mentally retarded. However, prior to the third penalty-phase proceeding, Dr. Smith changed his mind and testified at trial that he believed Johnson suffers from mental retardation. In reaching this change of opinion, Dr. Smith did not reevaluate Johnson, but instead based his opinion on testing done by Dr. Keyes. Dr. Keyes did not evaluate Johnson until after the case was remanded for a third penalty-phase proceeding. He was the first mental health professional to diagnose Johnson as being mentally retarded. Johnson's teacher testified that he was in special education classes from fourth grade through eighth grade; in ninth grade, he was placed on the basic track, which was for slower-ability children. However, none of these classes were for mentally retarded children. Several people who have known him throughout his life his siblings, teachers, a former girlfriend, and othersgave testimony indicating that he was slow and often had a hard time learning things. Yet, Johnson was able to receive good grades in many of his special education classes.
The record in this case presents a substantial amount of conflicting evidence as to Johnson's claim that he is mentally retarded. Of all of the experts that examined Johnson, only Dr. Smith and Dr. Keyes found that he was mentally retarded. Dr. Smith, who did not believe that Johnson suffered from mental retardation when he examined him in 1996 and 1999, changed his testimony after reviewing the tests Dr. Keyes conducted. Dr. Smith also admitted that the majority of the cases he had testified in were death-penalty cases and in the 40 times he had testified over the last 18 years, he had always been a witness for the defendant. There were also legitimate concerns about Dr. Keyes's qualifications. First, he is a school psychologist. He works in the educational field and is trained to evaluate and diagnosis children who are no older than 22 years old. He is not qualified to diagnose mental diseases, and the only type of mental defect he is qualified to diagnose is mental retardation. Second, Dr. Keyes admitted that he makes about half of his income by testifying that a defendant is mentally retarded. He has never testified on behalf of the prosecution. Third, he did not become involved in Johnson's case until it was remanded for a third penalty-phase hearing on the issue of mental retardation, and he was the first person to conclude that Johnson was mentally retarded. Fourth, to test Johnson's adaptive behaviors, Dr. Keyes relied on anecdotes and stories about Johnson that he learned from Johnson's siblings, who knew that Johnson would not be sentenced to death if he were found to be mentally retarded. Thus, relying on Johnson's siblings for this information presented a concern about bias. Finally, Dr. Keyes based many of his findings regarding Johnson's deficiencies in the areas of communication and self-direction on the fact that he was not able to hold a job. There was testimony, however, from several other witnesses that Johnson was capable of getting a job and it was his lack of motivation that led to his inability to remain employed. In addition to the issues of credibility with both of Johnson's expert witnesses, the jury also heard evidence that Johnson had multiple I.Q. scores that were above the mentally retarded range and that his intellectual functioning was not subaverage. Furthermore, the jury had an opportunity to view an hour and 15 minute interview between the State's psychologist, Dr. Heisler and Johnson. The interview was conducted about 10 years after the murders, yet Johnson was able to recall many details of the crime and provide an explanation for the decisions he made. [7] There was also sufficient evidence presented at trial regarding his adaptive behaviors for the jury to conclude that he did not have continual deficits in two or more of the categories. Because of this conflicting evidence, the trial court did not err in overruling Johnson's motions for a directed verdict. Deference should be given to the jury, and viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the judgment, there was sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror could have found that Johnson did not prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he suffered from mental retardation.