Opinion ID: 2635258
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: ct scans

Text: ¶ 28 At both the preliminary hearing and at trial, the State's case against Hales was based, in large part, on expert interpretation of the CT scans. The State's expert, pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Marion Walker, testified based on a combination of the CT scans and the evidence of retinal hemorrhaging that Luther suffered from shaken baby syndrome. In testimony interpreting the CT scans, he noted that the injuries depicted were global rather than localized and thus were not consistent with an impact to one part of the brain; that the force required to cause these injuries to a baby's brain from shaking would be violent force; and that they would have caused immediate unconsciousness with no possibility of a lucid interval. ¶ 29 Despite the importance of this evidence to the State's case, Hales's trial attorneys opted not to have an expert look at the CT scans until the morning of trial, and even then, the defense expert who looked at the CT scans was found by the district court to be unqualified to interpret them. Instead, Hales's trial attorneys focused on their theory that the near-miss car accident caused Luther's injuries. They called a forensic pathologist, Dr. John Plunkett, who testified that shaking can cause neck injury, but not brain injury, and therefore, the most likely cause of the injuries was the impact from the near-miss car accident that caused the bruising followed by a lengthy lucid interval. A jury convicted Hales of murder, and he was sentenced to five years to life in prison. ¶ 30 After Hales's conviction, he acquired new counsel and moved for a new trial on multiple grounds. Hales claimed, among other things, that his trial attorneys rendered ineffective assistance because they failed to investigate the CT scans. ¶ 31 In support of his motion, Hales submitted an affidavit from pediatric neuroradiologist Dr. Patrick D. Barnes in which Dr. Barnes opined that the initial CT scan taken at Cottonwood Hospital on December 5, 1985, between 8:41 and 8:45 p.m. shows a change in cell structure that is specifically observable in what is referred to as changes in gray/white differentiation. According to Dr. Barnes, [a]lthough there is some variability, edema and changes in gray/white differentiation will not appear in a CT scan until at least 6 to 12 hours after the initiating insult. If believed by a jury, this testimony would establish that the injury to Luther most likely happened prior to the time he was in Hales's care on the evening of December 5, 1985. According to the records, Luther was admitted to Cottonwood Hospital's emergency room at 7:34 p.m., and police reports indicate that the incident occurred at 7:03 p.m. Hales was with Luther for just 20 to 30 minutes. If the injury occurred six hours prior to the initial CT scan, it would have occurred around 2:45 p.m., while Hales was at work. ¶ 32 Dr. Barnes also concluded, contrary to Dr. Walker's testimony, that the CT scans of Luther's brain do not indicate the cause or violence of the initial injury; that there was nothing in the scans to indicate how fast the onset of symptoms occurred; and that there is nothing in the scans inconsistent with a lucid interval after the injury. ¶ 33 The district court denied Hales's motion for a new trial, and Hales appealed both the denial of this motion and his conviction to this court. He raises eleven issues on appeal: (1) federal due process; (2) ineffective assistance of counsel; (3) insufficient evidence; (4) newly discovered evidence; (5) improper admission of unfounded scientific expert testimony; (6) improper jury instructions; (7) improper exclusion of a witness; (8) improper trial court conduct; (9) failure to sentence to a lesser degree of offense; (10) prosecutorial misconduct; and (11) cumulative error. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Utah Code section 78-2-2(3)(i).