Opinion ID: 2240138
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Psychiatrists

Text: The trial court appointed Drs. James Davis and Larry Davis to examine Stratton to determine her mental state at the time of the shooting and at trial. The psychiatrists were brothers who shared an office. They individually examined Stratton in the Marion County Jail on different days and did not confer with each other before reaching their conclusions. Each doctor testified individually that in his professional opinion Stratton was not insane at the time of the murder. A clinical psychologist hired by the defense testified otherwise. Stratton claims that the Davis brothers were not disinterested as required by Ind. Code § 35-36-2-2, which provides for the appointment of at least two experts to examine a criminal defendant who raises insanity as a defense. Stratton concedes that the doctors were not biased toward the State or against her. Her claim rests on the bald assertion that psychiatrists who share office space and family relationship cannot be disinterested. [1] She cites no authority supporting this broad proposition but asserts that physicians testifying under these circumstances should be bound by the conflict of interest provisions in the Code of Professional Responsibility governing attorneys in this state. We conclude that the psychiatrists in this case were not inherently biased simply because they shared professional and familial relationships. They conducted separate examinations and reached independent conclusions, just as unrelated psychiatrists would have done under the same circumstances. While the Code of Professional Responsibility may preclude two related lawyers from participating in the same case, it does not apply to physicians. Stratton also claims the psychiatrists were not disinterested because they based their opinions in part on a single diagnostic test. Stratton completed the multiple choice test in jail outside the doctors' presence. The procedure is commonly used by psychiatrists to determine general personality traits. The test results were calculated by computer and later interpreted individually by the physicians. We fail to see how the use of this test by both psychiatrists affected their impartiality.