Opinion ID: 1637335
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Substantial Indicia of Reliability

Text: ¶ 17. The comment to Rule 803(25) provides the following non-exhaustive list of factors that a trial court should consider in determining if the statement has sufficient indicia of reliability: (1) whether there is an apparent motive of declarant to lie; (2) the declarant's general character; (3) whether more than one person heard the statements; (4) whether the statements were spontaneous; (5) the timing of statements; (6) the relationship between the declarant and the witness; (7) the possibility of faulty recollection by the declarant is remote; (8) certainty that the statements were made; (9) the credibility of the witness testifying about the statements; (10) the declarant's age or maturity; (11) whether suggestive techniques were used in eliciting the statement; and (12) whether the declarant's age, knowledge and experience made it unlikely that the declarant fabricated. Miss. R. Evid. 803(25) cmt.; see also Smith v. State, 925 So.2d 825, 834 (Miss. 2006). In the instant case, the trial court made extensive written findings addressing each of the aforementioned factors in making its determination. ¶ 18. In addressing the first factor, whether there is an apparent motive on the child's part to lie, the trial court stated nothing in the testimony at the hearing or in the documentation furnished to the Court indicate such. Bishop asserts that C.C. had an apparent motive to lie, that being the fact that she and her mother had moved out of the home in which they had resided with Bishop; the assertion being that A.C. and Bishop had pre-existing marital problems that would motivate C.C. to lie. However, the record reveals that A.C. and C.C. moved out only after C.C. disclosed the sexual abuse to her mother, and that the decision to move out was solely motivated by the disclosure. ¶ 19. In addressing the second factor, the general character of the child, the trial court noted that the child was four years old when she first disclosed the sexual abuse, and further noted that an expert testified that, in her opinion, C.C. was incompetent to testify at trial. [4] The trial court's order states [t]his factor is a negative on the issue of reliability, but not determinative. With regard to the third factor, the trial court found, and the record reveals, that C.C. made statements concerning the sexual abuse by her father to her mother, to Dr. Trudi Porter, and to Brenda Donald. Further, all of C.C.'s statements were consistent. ¶ 20. On the issue of spontaneity of C.C.'s statements, it is clear from the record that her initial statement to her mother was completely spontaneous. In the trial court's order, the court places significance on the fact that this statement[, C.C.'s statement to her mother,] was repeated almost verbatim to Porter and Donald even to the point of using the term Yuk, Yuk. The finding on these two factors subsumes factors (5) and (6): the timing of the declaration and the relationship between the child and the witness. The trial court further found that the relationship between C.C. and her mother was significant, as was the relationship between C.C. and Donald. At the time of trial, Donald testified that she and C.C. had completed eight or nine therapy sessions together, which is indicative that Donald had built rapport with C.C. ¶ 21. The trial court also found, based on the consistency of C.C.'s statements, that the possibility that her recollection of events is faulty is remote, and that there is no factual basis in the record to support an argument that the statements were not made. Furthermore, the trial court found that the persons to whom C.C. made statements were credible. ¶ 22. As to factor eleven, whether suggestive techniques were used in eliciting C.C.'s statements, Bishop asserts that C.C.'s statements were the result of leading and suggestive questioning techniques, as well as the product of repeated interviewing of the child. In support of this argument at trial, Bishop offered the testimony of Mary Lyn Huffman, Ph.D. The following is an excerpt from the trial court's order: . . . . For reasons set forth hereinafter, the Court places far more weight on the testimony of the mother and the findings and testimony of Dr. Porter and Brenda Donald than on that of Dr. Huffman. Dr. Porter is a forensic psychologist trained in interviewing children who have been sexually abused and has actually conducted those interviews. She stated that in her interview with the child she used non-leading and non-suggestive questions, and from the evidence the Court finds that to be true. She also found that the child's knowledge of sexual behavior and body parts were suggestive of her being exposed to sexual behavior. The Court finds these observations to be persuasive and that it is unlikely that child would emit these type of statements unless she had exposure. Brenda Donald is a clinical social worker with over twenty years of experience in dealing with child sexual abuse cases. Her testimony is that she has provided therapy to hundreds of children. In addition to their training Porter and Donald have actual practical experience in the field of sexual child abuse and in this case actual contact with the child. As to Dr. Huffman, the Court did accept her as an expert in the fields of children's memory and interview techniques and suggestibility of a child witness. However, by her own testimony Dr. Huffman is an academic not a clinician, and her testimony is based on studies and reports of others and not principles which she has personally witnessed or applied. . . . She is qualified to testify as to what the reports and studies found on suggestibility, but as to practical application of the same, she has no expertise at all. . . . Most of her conclusions and opinions have little or no factual basis in the record and obviously from her own statements suffer from a lack of information. When faced with a lack of information, she assumes and speculates. . . . The facts before the Court are not that [C.C.] seemed to make a spontaneous disclosure, but that she did, in fact, make a spontaneous disclosure. Huffman rejects the statement on the basis of the language limitations of a 4-year old and on the basis that [C.C.] did not provide a narrative to any other interviewer. However, we are not dealing with a 4-year old, we are dealing with this 4-year old who gave extensive narratives to Brenda Donald over the course of her therapy. . . . Therefore, the Court finds the statements concerning sexual abuse by the father made to the mother and Brenda Donald, which are the only statements of the child admissible at trial, were elicited without suggestive techniques and satisfy the requirements of Factor (11). ¶ 23. In addition to the trial court's findings, additional evidence within the record supports the trial court's finding that C.C.'s statements bore substantial indicia of reliability. Dr. Porter testified that C.C.'s statements to her were spontaneous and that C.C. did not appear to be coached. Dr. Porter also testified that, although C.C. was unable verbally to demonstrate the difference between a truth and a lie, she was reliable in the fact that her statements to A.C., to Dr. Porter, and to Brenda Donald were all consistent. Brenda Donald also testified that a possible reason that C.C.'s statements to her revealed more details over the course of their therapeutic sessions likely is due to the fact that she had established a good rapport with C.C., and further testified that even though her statements involved more detail, they were consistent with C.C.'s previous statements. ¶ 24. Finally, C.C.'s statements indicate that she possessed extensive sexual knowledge well beyond her age, four years old. C.C. was able to describe the shape and size of Bishop's penis. She also described a sexual device that was used by Bishop and stated, He put a toy that makes noise in his booty. C.C. further described in child-like terms that she understood the concept of male ejaculation, and described that it tickled when Bishop performed oral sex on her. ¶ 25. After review of the record, we find that the trial court's finding that C.C.'s statements bore substantial indicia of reliability is supported by substantial evidence. Furthermore, the trial court followed the proper procedure in its determination, and did not abuse its discretion in finding that C.C.'s statements bore indicia of reliability and in admitting her statements pursuant to the tender years exception. Miss. R. Evid. 803(25).