Opinion ID: 2589798
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Alleged Error in Limiting Impeachment of Expert Witness

Text: As noted above, Dr. Zigelbaum testified as an expert witness on Flores's behalf, and opined that Flores had dependent personality traits. (See ante, 99 Cal.Rptr.2d at p. 85, 5 P.3d at pp. 144-145.) Zigelbaum's credibility was impeached when it was revealed that the Massachusetts State Board of Registration had filed formal charges of unprofessional conduct against him that could result in revocation or suspension of his medical license. Defendant's counsel was precluded, however, from eliciting the nature of the charges, which included allegations of sexual misconduct with six patients, and use of cocaine and marijuana with patients and a baby-sitter. Defendant contends the trial court's ruling rendered the trial fundamentally unfair and violated his right to confront and cross-examine witnesses under the federal and state Constitutions. Confrontation clause and fairness principles generally guarantee a criminal defendant the right to explore a witness's bias on cross-examination. (See Davis v. Alaska (1974) 415 U.S. 308, 316, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 39 L.Ed.2d 347.) They do not, however, prevent the trial court from imposing reasonable limits on defense counsel's inquiry based on concerns about harassment, confusion of the issues, or relevance. (See Delaware v. Van Arsdall (1986) 475 U.S. 673, 679, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 89 L.Ed.2d 674.) Here, at the time of trial, the charges of unprofessional conduct against Zigelbaum, while significant and troubling, were pending and unadjudicated. Unlike Lindh v. Murphy (7th Cir. 1997) 124 F.3d 899, on which defendant relies, the jury learned Zigelbaum's license to practice medicine was under review because of allegations of professional misconduct; it simply did not learn what those allegations were. The trial court reasonably concluded the proposed line of questioning was extraneous under Evidence Code section 352. While defendant now refers to the impeachment value of a parade of six responsible citizens ... testifying, he never sought to introduce such evidence below. Rather, defense counsel proposed cross-examining the doctor on the basis of newspaper articles. Indeed, it is not even clear the names of the six complaining patients were public information. Moreover, while defendant was permitted to elicit that Zigelbaum was currently anathema to the prosecution offices listed on his resume, he never did so. Even assuming the trial court erred in precluding the testimony regarding the nature of the charges, it is apparent defendant was not prejudiced at either the guilt or penalty phase. As noted above, Zigelbaum was not permitted to testify that in his opinion the events on August 9, 1989, at the Gilhousen residence had occurred in a certain way. Rather, he was asked to assume that certain events had occurred and base his opinion on these assumptions. The jury was expressly and repeatedly instructed that the assumptions were not evidence, and that the jury was the sole finder of fact as to what had occurred on that day. Nor was Zigelbaum permitted to state an opinion as to defendant's mental state. Moreover, Zigelbaum was impeached not only by the fact that misconduct charges were pending, but also by the fact that he was not board-certified in either psychiatry or forensic psychiatry, his curriculum vitae was substantially misleading, and his opinion of Flores's diminished culpability for the murders was unshaken by Flores's seemingly inconsistent behavior, such as his failure to seek assistance from anyone after Chandler's death even though he had the opportunity to speak to his sister, and later to Burns when defendant was not present. Indeed, it is apparent the jury rejected Zigelbaum's opinion as not credible, because it convicted Flores on all first degree murder, robbery, burglary, and conspiracy counts. Defendant further summarily argues that as a result of Zigelbaum's testimony, he was entitled to an independent psychiatric exam of Flores. He cites no basis on which such an exam is authorized, and we are aware of none.