Opinion ID: 2615951
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether testimony based on interviews on the day defendant was arrested should be excluded

Text: At the time of his arrest, Steelman claimed to be going through heroin withdrawal. He was sniffling, a symptom of withdrawal and claimed to have had his last fix on the evening of 6 November, two days prior to his arrest. On at least one occasion, he asked the interrogating officers to send a medical doctor who could relieve the withdrawal symptoms. Before receiving any medical treatment, however, Steelman was visited by two psychiatrists who were sent by the San Joaquin District Attorney's Office. These doctors were sent to evaluate Steelman's mental condition in terms of competence to participate in legal proceedings and in terms of his mental capacity at the time of the alleged crimes. This was standard procedure in San Joaquin County when an individual was arrested for a violent crime at a time close to its commission. Dr. Kent E. Rogerson testified at the hearing on the motion in limine that he had told Steelman, after an officer in the Doctor's presence had advised defendant of his rights, that he would be reporting back to the District Attorney's Office. Steelman responded that he wanted a physical examination and the doctor replied that he would not perform one. Neither did Dr. Rogerson prescribe any drugs for Steelman. The interview lasted for about 70 minutes and information and observations obtained during that interview contributed to his diagnosis of Steelman and to his opinion regarding the defendant's legal sanity. Dr. Robert Austin interviewed Steelman later in the evening of 8 November. Dr. Austin initially determined that the Miranda warnings had been given and then told Steelman that he was a psychiatrist representing the District Attorney's Office and that anything Steelman said during the interview could be used against him in court. Steelman responded by asking for an attorney and saying that he would not discuss the case. However, he did agree to talk about himself in general. Although he said he noticed the sniffling, Dr. Austin testified that Steelman did not ask for any physical examination or treatment during this interview. The doctor also said that he did not prescribe any drugs as a result of the interview. Steelman had testified about the interview during the hearings on the motion to suppress. He corroborated the statements of the two doctors in that neither gave him any treatment. However, he claims that he did not know that Dr. Rogerson was a psychiatrist until they were well into the interview and that he had initially assumed that the doctor had been sent to treat his illness. According to Steelman, Austin got him to talk by promising to help with the withdrawals. Steelman, relying upon his own testimony, argues that a doctor-patient relationship was created with each doctor. The doctor-patient privilege is created by statute in Arizona. A.R.S. § 13-1802: A person shall not be examined as a witness in the following cases:       5. A physician or surgeon, without consent of his patient, as to any information acquired in attending the patient which was necessary to enable him to prescribe or act for the patient. In criminal cases, there is a well-established distinction between an examining and treating physician for purposes of applying the privilege. There is no privilege when the defendant is examined on the orders of the court or prosecutor in regard to issues for trial except those provided by court rule. On the other hand, when the doctor is either going to diagnose or prescribe treatment for the defendant, the relationship will be created and the communications will be privileged. State v. Evans, 104 Ariz. 434, 454 P.2d 976 (1969). [1] Treating for this purpose is more than prescribing medication for superficial symptoms. See State v. Evans, supra. Yet if the patient believes the examination is for purposes of treatment, the privileges will apply even if there are also other purposes for the examination. See State v. Shaw, 106 Ariz. 103, 471 P.2d 715 (1970), cert. den. 400 U.S. 1009, 91 S.Ct. 569, 27 L.Ed.2d 622 (1971). In the case at bar, Steelman claimed that it had been his understanding during each interview that the doctors were treating him for his withdrawal symptoms. The doctors, on the other hand, testified that they made it clear that they were psychiatrists sent by the District Attorney's Office. The question of the existence of the doctor-patient privilege therefore was one of the credibility of the testimony. The admissibility of evidence turned on the trial court's determination of the credibility of testimony and was within the discretion of the trial court. Absent abuse, such discretion will not be overturned on appeal. State v. Sturgis, 113 Ariz. 311, 553 P.2d 665 (1976). We find no abuse in the instant case. b. Testimony regarding defendant's sanity at the time of the crime Steelman also contends that it was a violation of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and his Sixth Amendment right to counsel to allow the testimony of Drs. Austin and Rogerson who examined him the evening he was brought into the San Joaquin County Jail to testify concerning his sanity at the time of the crime. Even though incriminating statements made by Steelman might not be admissible during the case in chief, Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), it does not follow that all use of the information obtained by the doctors is inadmissible. Harris v. New York, 401 U.S. 222, 91 S.Ct. 643, 28 L.Ed.2d 1 (1971). The doctors did not testify in regard to the guilt or innocence of Steelman, but only as to their opinion of his sanity at the time of the crime. This was in response to Steelman's insanity defense. This limited use of the interviews was permissible. Harris, supra. The argument that the testimony violates the privilege against self-incrimination arises from the fact that this was a psychiatric examination which took place before the defendant had raised the defense of insanity so there could be no implied waiver of privilege. State v. Freeman, 114 Ariz. 32, 559 P.2d 152 (1976); United States v. Albright, 388 F.2d 719 (4th Cir.1968). This issue, however, was never adequately presented to the court below and we therefore are unable to consider it due to an inadequate record. See United States v. Malcolm, 475 F.2d 420 (9th Cir.1973). WHETHER THE TESTIMONY BASED ON THE CALIFORNIA INCIDENTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED Except for reference to prior convictions in Steelman's direct testimony, no details concerning the California murders were introduced at trial. Each doctor was asked about the basis for his opinion on cross-examination. Dr. Gary Cavanaugh, one of the State's psychiatrists, said that his interview and police reports relating to the California charges had been considered by him in forming his opinion about the defendant's mental capacity. Dr. Austin stated that he had relied on information relating to the California charges. At the time of the trial in July 1975, the rule in Arizona prohibited a psychiatrist (or other expert) from giving an opinion which was based on facts which had not been presented in evidence. State v. Drury, 110 Ariz. 447, 520 P.2d 495 (1974); State v. Gevrez, 61 Ariz. 296, 148 P.2d 829 (1944). Thus, under the law at the time of the trial it was error to permit the Doctors Austin and Cavanaugh to testify as to an opinion which was based on facts not in evidence. However, after the trial, we stated in the case of State v. Clark, 112 Ariz. 493, 543 P.2d 1122, decided on 19 December 1975, that the test is whether the information relied upon by the expert is of a kind normally relied upon by experts in the particular field in question. Under Clark, supra, the psychiatrists could base their opinions upon the facts of the California murders even though these facts were not in evidence. Defendant contends that Clark should not be applied retroactively as it would be an ex post facto law. We do not agree. The constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws refers to legislation and not to judicial opinion. Frank v. Mangum, 237 U.S. 309, 35 S.Ct. 582, 59 L.Ed. 969 (1915); Ross v. Oregon, 227 U.S. 150, 33 S.Ct. 220, 57 L.Ed. 458 (1913). But see Bouie v. City of Columbia, 378 U.S. 347, 84 S.Ct. 1697, 12 L.Ed.2d 894 (1964). The Clark decision, while it admittedly changed a previous rule of evidence in Arizona, was not a change in the statutory law. Neither does the constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws apply to changes in the rules of evidence, whether statutory or court made. The United States Supreme Court long ago stated:    Statutes which simply enlarge the class of persons who may be competent to testify in criminal cases are not ex post facto in their application to prosecutions for crimes committed prior to their passage; for they do not attach criminality to any act previously done, and which was innocent when done, nor aggravate any crime theretofore committed, nor provide a greater punishment therefor than was prescribed at the time of its commission, nor do they alter the degree, or lessen the amount or measure, of the proof which was made necessary to conviction when the crime was committed.   . Hopt v. Utah, 110 U.S. 574, 589, 4 S.Ct. 202, 210, 28 L.Ed. 262, 268 (1884). And:    If persons excluded upon grounds of public policy at the time of the commission of an offense, from testifying as witnesses for or against the accused, may, in virtue of a statute, become competent to testify, we cannot perceive any ground upon which to hold a statute to be ex post facto which does nothing more than admit evidence of a particular kind in a criminal case upon an issue of fact which was not admissible under the rules of evidence as enforced by judicial decisions at the time the offense was committed.    Thompson v. Missouri, 171 U.S. 380, 387, 18 S.Ct. 922, 924, 43 L.Ed. 204, 207 (1898). In the instant case, the crimes for which defendant was charged, the punishment to be imposed, and the quantity or degree of proof necessary to convict remained the same; only the admissibility of certain evidence was changed. We find no ex post facto violation. Steelman next contends that the doctors should not be allowed to base their testimony on the California murders because in order to keep evidence of the California murders out of the trial, Steelman was not able to effectively cross-examine the doctors concerning the reasons for their opinions. Steelman relies on Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 35 L.Ed.2d 297 (1973) where the United States Supreme Court held that it was a due process violation to prevent the defendant from cross-examining his own witness under the Mississippi voucher rule even though the witness was adverse to his interests. Chambers can be distinguished from the present case in that the result of the application of the voucher rule in Chambers was that the defendant had no opportunity whatsoever to challenge the witness's testimony before the jury. In the instant case, Steelman was not precluded from cross-examination. He was permitted to present his case to the jury. There is, of course, always the danger in cross-examination of a witness that evidence damaging to the side asking the questions will be revealed. This is one of the risks of cross-examination. Chambers is not applicable and it was not a violation of the right of confrontation to permit the doctors to testify. DR. WHITE'S REBUTTAL TESTIMONY The major defense at trial was that Steelman was insane at the time of the Sandberg slayings. In support, Steelman called Dr. James Albert Peale, a board-certified psychiatrist with extensive experience in public mental health and correctional psychiatry. Dr. Peale had examined Steelman twice: the first was in May 1974 at the request of the public defender's office in California and the second was just prior to his testimony at trial. Each interview was more than two hours in length. In addition, Dr. Peale was familiar with the confession which was introduced into evidence during the trial and the defendant's own testimony. On the basis of this information, Dr. Peale testified that he had diagnosed Steelman as having either schizophrenia or a schizophrenic reaction, paranoid type, and moreover, the doctor found that there was indication of organic brain damage of the kind currently associated with trauma. The doctor stated that, to a reasonable medical certainty, on the day the Sandbergs were slain, Steelman was insane according to the M'Naghten test. On rebuttal, the State called four psychiatrists who had individually examined Steelman and who also were familiar with the confessions and Steelman's trial testimony. Three of these witnesses testified that Steelman was a sociopath and not a schizophrenic and that he was not M'Naghten insane at the time of the crimes. At the conclusion of the State's rebuttal evidence, the defense proposed to call Dr. Patricia White in surrebuttal. Dr. White had been Steelman's treating psychiatrist from December of 1973 until May of 1974. The defense stated it did not intend to call Dr. White for testimony in regard to Steelman's legal sanity on the day of the crime, but in regard to her diagnosis of the defendant's pseudo-psychopathic schizophrenia. The State opposed the testimony on the ground that it was improper surrebuttal evidence as it should have been presented with the case-in-chief on the sanity defense. The trial court agreed and excluded the testimony. Steelman now claims this was reversible error. The question of what evidence is to be considered proper surrebuttal is one of first impression in Arizona. There have been, however, several cases which had considered what evidence is appropriate on rebuttal. See Central Copper Co. v. Klefisch, 34 Ariz. 230, 270 P. 629 (1928); Lowery v. Turner, 19 Ariz. App. 299, 506 P.2d 1084 (1973). These cases indicate that the decision whether rebuttal evidence should be admitted is within the sound discretion of the trial court and generally will not be disturbed on appeal absent an abuse of that discretion. It follows that the discretion of the trial court in allowing surrebuttal testimony is even greater. Surrebuttal testimony is usually offered to explain away new evidence brought out in the rebuttal presentation or to impeach the testimony presented in rebuttal. Only in rare cases will it be error for the trial court to refuse to admit the testimony. Wigmore on Evidence § 1874. In the instant case, the State, in rebuttal, had contradicted the defense case of insanity without presenting new evidence. There was nothing in Dr. White's testimony which attacked the credibility or otherwise impeached the State's witnesses. The trial court was therefore not required to admit Dr. White's testimony in surrebuttal. We find no abuse of the trial court's discretion. Lowery v. Turner, supra. But Steelman also claims that the exclusion of Dr. White's testimony was a violation of his rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the United States Constitution in that it violated Steelman's fundamental right to present his case by calling witnesses in his own behalf. By precluding Dr. White's testimony, he claims that he was prevented from effectively presenting his case to the trier of fact and therefore was denied the opportunity to be heard. There is no indication that Steelman was denied the right to call Dr. White as a defense witness when Steelman was presenting his case. Steelman instead waited until later and called Dr. White as a surrebuttal witness. By that time, Dr. White's testimony was merely cumulative of the evidence already presented by the defense. The addition of another doctor in surrebuttal who votes for the defense is not a sufficiently material addition to the case to reach constitutional proportions. Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14, 87 S.Ct. 1920, 18 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1967). We find no error. WHETHER DEFENDANT'S INSANITY DEFENSE WAS RENDERED IMPOTENT Again relying on Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 35 L.Ed.2d 297 (1973), Steelman argues that by excluding both Dr. White's testimony and by permitting the State's doctors to rely on information about which Steelman felt he could not cross-examine them, Steelman was denied the opportunity to present his defense in violation of his rights under the due process clause. Chambers can easily be distinguished from the present case. In Chambers, Mississippi's voucher rule prevented cross-examining one's own witness and the defendant in that case was prevented from careful questioning of a witness named McDonald about that witness's repudiation of an earlier confession to the crime for which defendant was charged. The testimony of other people to whom the witness had confessed was excluded on hearsay grounds. The Supreme Court found that Chambers had been denied the opportunity to present valid evidence and that Chambers had been denied a fair trial. In the present case, Steelman had every opportunity to present his case to the jury. Since Dr. White's testimony would have repeated the substance of Dr. Peale's, the trial court did not keep the jury from hearing testimony they had not otherwise heard. Furthermore, even though Steelman felt that it would be unwise to probe into the California incidents in cross-examining the psychiatrists who had examined him in connection with those charges, he still had an adequate opportunity to probe into the reasons for their opinions and sift their consciences enough to adequately assist the jury in making its own determination in regard to their credibility. Chambers, supra, 410 U.S. at 295, 93 S.Ct. at 1045-46, 35 L.Ed.2d at 308-09. We find no error. CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE DEATH PENALTY After the matter was submitted to this court for decision, the United States Supreme Court in Lockett v. Ohio, ___ U.S. ___, 98 S.Ct. 2954, 57 L.Ed.2d 973 (1978) and Bell v. Ohio, ___ U.S. ___, 98 S.Ct. 2977, 57 L.Ed.2d 1010 (1978), cast serious question on Arizona death penalty statutes. We have recently held in the case of State v. Watson, 120 Ariz. 441, 586 P.2d 1253 (1978), that a person sentenced under our death penalty statutes and case law as it existed prior to Lockett and Bell, must be resentenced in light of the most recent United States Supreme Court decisions. We therefore remand the matter to the trial court for resentencing pursuant to State v. Watson, supra. The verdicts and judgments of guilt are affirmed. The sentences other than the death penalty are affirmed, and the matter is remanded for resentencing on the two murder charges. STRUCKMEYER, V.C.J., and HAYS, HOLOHAN and GORDON, JJ., concur.