Opinion ID: 2058119
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Lack of Expert Testimony

Text: Gardiner was convicted of first-degree sexual assault under § 11-37-2. As applied to the present case, this statute provides for two possible theories for conviction. Section 11-37-2(1) is applicable when the accused engages in sexual penetration with someone whom he knows or has reason to know is mentally disabled, and § 11-37-2(2) applies to sexual penetration by force or coercion. According to Gardiner, a conviction based on grounds that the victim was mentally disabled requires expert testimony, which, he contends, was not offered at trial. Therefore, argues Gardiner, his conviction should be reversed because the jury returned a general verdict of guilty, and it is impossible to know upon which grounds the verdict was based. At trial, the state called Steven Colantuono, a psychologist who treated Jane for a period of three years. Colantuono possesses both a master's degree and bachelor's degree in psychology, as well as a law degree. In addition to working directly with Jane, he had reviewed past assessments of her condition. The witness testified that Jane had an IQ of approximately fifty-five and that her cognitive functioning was equivalent to that of a seven-year-old child. The record reveals that at several points during his testimony, Colantuono was asked for his professional opinion about Jane's level of development. For example, on direct examination he testified as follows: PROSECUTOR: Do you have an opinion, professional opinion, as to whether [Jane] is able to understand the nature of sexual activity in general? WITNESS: I think that she may understand some of the physical actions relating to sex, but the nature of sexual activity with respect to intimacy and the long-term kind of associations between two people, I'm not sure that she understands that. I believe that she doesn't. PROSECUTOR: In your professional opinion, does [Jane] have the ability to make informed decisions about appropriate physical contact between herself and others? WITNESS: If you mean by physical contact, sexual contact, I would say no. Despite the prosecutor's requests for Colantuono's professional opinion, based on his professional experience, counsel for defendant did not object to the questions posed by the state. In fact, defense counsel himself argued that Colantuono should be allowed to testify about matters of which he did not have firsthand knowledge because, in defense counsel's words, Colantuono was testifying as an expert, and such testimony is permissible under Rule 703 of the Rhode Island Rules of Evidence. [10] We are of the opinion that it is far too late in the day for Gardiner to now challenge Colantuono's status as an expert witness. In addition to electing not to object to the state's requests for Colantuono's professional opinion, defendant himself relied on Colantuono as an expert. [11] The defendant further argues that even if Colantuono properly testified as an expert, his testimony was insufficient to establish that Jane was mentally disabled within the meaning of § 11-37-1(4). To fall within this definition, a person must have a mental impairment which renders that person incapable of appraising the nature of the act. Section 11-37-1(4). Although this Court has never held that expert testimony is required to establish mental disability, such testimony was, in fact, given in this case. As noted above, Colantuono testified that Jane lacked the ability to make informed decisions about sexual contact. [12] Moreover, when the trial justice instructed the jury, he explained that the state had the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Jane was unable to understand the nature of the sexual act. He also instructed the jurors that they could determine what weight to give to Colantuono's opinion, or even disregard his testimony in its entirety. In light of the substance of that testimony, and the clarity of the trial justice's instructions, we reject defendant's argument that the evidence did not support a conviction based on mental disability.