Opinion ID: 888972
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: ISSUE 3. Did the District Court err in denying Morrisey's motion for disclosure and allowing Dr. Symes, a forensic anthropologist called by the State as a rebuttal witness, to testify?

Text: ¶ 75 The interpretation and construction of a statute is a matter of law which we review de novo to determine whether the district court interpreted and applied the statute correctly. State v. Triplett, 2008 MT 360, ¶ 13, 346 Mont. 383, 195 P.3d 819.
¶ 76 Prior to trial, Morrisey filed a motion for disclosure under § 46-15-322, MCA, asking the State to produce the curriculum vitae and other qualifications of its witness Dr. Symes, a forensic anthropologist who examined Dolana's skull. Morrisey also sought disclosure of Dr. Symes' conclusion(s) or opinion(s) herein; the basis and/or reasoning and/or methodology of or for said conclusions or opinions; the results of any tests conducted; [and] a copy or any report of his opinion(s), conclusion(s). In response, the State asserted that such disclosure was not required because (1) the State did not intend to call Dr. Symes in its case-in-chief, but rather would call him only as a rebuttal witness to rebut the testimony of Dr. Gill-King, a forensic anthropologist retained by Morrisey, and (2) the State would call Dr. Symes only to impeach the credibility of Dr. Gill-King. Morrisey, however, pointed out that the State had never indicated before then that Dr. Symes would be called only for rebuttal purposes. He noted that six months earlier, the parties had filed a joint Stipulation to Continue Trial in which the State explained that Dr. Symes would be reviewing Dr. Gill-King's opinions and conclusions and, dependent upon [Dr. Symes'] opinion, the results may result in a resolution of this matter. Morrisey also pointed out that a central issue at trial was going to be whether his .22-caliber rifle was the murder weapon and that Dr. Symes' opinion specifically addressed that issue. Morrisey opined that Dr. Symes' opinion would play a major part in the State's case. Nevertheless, the District Court denied his motion. ¶ 77 After the State rested its case-in-chief, Morrisey renewed his argument that he was entitled to disclosure of Dr. Symes' conclusions. He noted that if the State were truly going to call Dr. Symes just to impeach Dr. Gill-King's credibility, then disclosure of Dr. Symes' conclusions was probably not required. However, he contended that if Dr. Symes were going to offer a forensic opinion that differed from Dr. Gill-King's forensic opinion, then disclosure was required. In this regard, Morrisey argued that in substance, what Dr. Symes would be providing was a forensic opinion, not testimony about Dr. Gill-King's credibility. The District Court again denied his motion. ¶ 78 Dr. Gill-King testified that he examined Dolana's skull to determine what caliber weapon had been used. His ultimate conclusion was that Dolana had been killed by a high-velocity round, traveling much faster than a standard .22 long rifle round, but with a diameter similar to a .22. He stated that in his opinion, it was very improbable that the entry and exit wounds had been caused by a.22 long rifle round. Thereafter, the State called Dr. Symes, who testified that he was present at trial to discuss his examination of Dolana's skull, and Dr. Gill-King's examination of the skull as well. In Dr. Symes' view, Dolana was killed by a low-velocity round fired from a small-caliber weapon, and he concluded that a .22-caliber rifle firing typical ammunition could have been used. Dr. Symes also commented on Dr. Gill-King's report and discussed points on which he disagreed with Dr. Gill-King. On cross-examination, however, Dr. Symes agreed that Dr. Gill-King was competent and qualified. Dr. Symes also acknowledged that he could not say a .22 rifle had in fact been used.
¶ 79 If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise. M.R. Evid. 702. Section 46-15-322(1)(c), MCA, in turn, states that upon request, the prosecutor shall make available to the defendant for examination and reproduction certain material and information within the prosecutor's possession or control, including all written reports or statements of experts who have personally examined the defendant or any evidence in the particular case, together with the results of physical examinations, scientific tests, experiments, or comparisons. ¶ 80 Morrisey argues that the State was statutorily obligated to disclose Dr. Symes' conclusions, given that Dr. Symes was an expert witnessnot a rebuttal witnessand he gave pure expert testimony. As it did under Issue 1 ( see ¶ 36, supra ), the State responds as follows: For the sake of complying with the word limits and without conceding that Dr. Symes' conclusions should have been disclosed to Morrisey prior to trial, the State will forego an analysis of whether an expert who testifies as a rebuttal witness is subject to the disclosure requirements of [§ 46-15-322(1)(c), MCA]. In the State's view, [e]ven if nondisclosure of Dr. Symes' report was error, it was harmless. While we agree with Morrisey that the State should have provided the requested disclosure, we agree with the State that the error was harmless. ¶ 81 As noted, the State argued that disclosure of Dr. Symes' opinions and conclusions was not required for two reasons: (1) because the State did not intend to call Dr. Symes in its case-in-chief, but would call him only as a rebuttal witness to rebut the testimony of Dr. Gill-King, and (2) because the State would call Dr. Symes only to impeach the credibility of Dr. Gill-King. As for the State's first theory, nothing in the statute stands for the proposition that disclosure is not required for experts called by the prosecution in rebuttal. In this connection, the State pointed out that § 46-15-322(1)(a), MCA, requires the prosecutor to disclose the names, addresses, and statements of all persons whom the prosecutor may call as witnesses in the case in chief  (emphasis added). But Morrisey did not rely on subsection (1)(a). He relied on subsection (1)(c), which requires the prosecutor to disclose all written reports or statements of experts who have personally examined the defendant or any evidence in the particular case, together with the results of physical examinations, scientific tests, experiments, or comparisons. This requirement is not limited like subsection (1)(a) to the case in chief, and we reject the State's attempt to insert such language into subsection (1)(c). See § 1-2-101, MCA. The State also cited State v. Weitzel, 2000 MT 86, ¶¶ 31-32, 299 Mont. 192, 998 P.2d 1154, and State v. Hildreth, 267 Mont. 423, 430, 884 P.2d 771, 775-76 (1994), for the proposition that the prosecution is not required by § 46-15-322(6), MCA, to provide notice of a witness called to impeach the credibility of a defense witness. Yet, neither Weitzel nor Hildreth involved a witness providing expert testimony, and the present case does not involve subsection (6) of § 46-15-322, MCA. But more to the point, the State cannot escape the disclosure requirements of subsection (1)(c) through the mere expedient of cloaking expert-opinion testimony as credibility-impeachment testimony. ¶ 82 As for the State's second theory, however, we agree that under the language of § 46-15-322(1)(c), MCA, the prosecution is not required to disclose the reports of a witness whom the State will not be calling to provide expert testimony. In other words, if the person is being called strictly as a fact witness, the statute's disclosure requirements are not applicable. Thus, as Morrisey acknowledged in the District Court, if Dr. Symes were being called solely to impeach Dr. Gill-King's credibility by some means other than by providing a contrary expert forensic opinion, then disclosure was not required. ¶ 83 Accordingly, by refusing Morrisey's pretrial request for disclosure of Dr. Symes' opinions and conclusions, the State effectively bound itself not to call Dr. Symes as an expert to provide his opinions about Dolana's skull and the murder weapon (whether in the State's case-in-chief or in rebuttal). Section 46-15-322(1)(c), MCA, is quite clear on this point. And for this reason, while the District Court did not provide an explanation for its decision to deny Morrisey's motion for disclosure, the court's ruling was not necessarily incorrect. The State had vowed several times that it would call Dr. Symes only to impeach Dr. Gill-King's credibility, and the District Court evidently took this to mean that the State would not call Dr. Symes to provide expert testimony. The real issue arose when the State did call Dr. Symes to give his expert opinion regarding the gun used to kill Dolana. That testimony clearly fell within the strictures of § 46-15-322(1)(c), MCA, and outside the bounds of what the State had told the court and Morrisey Dr. Symes' testimony would be. Hence, the testimony was objectionable, and a timely objection would have been properly sustained. ¶ 84 Although Morrisey did not contemporaneously object to Dr. Symes' testimony due to the fact that he had already twice argued that the testimony was improper, we conclude that any error caused by the State's failure to comply with § 46-15-322(1)(c), MCA, was harmless. A cause may not be reversed by reason of any error committed by the trial court against the convicted person unless the record shows that the error was prejudicial. Section 46-20-701(1), MCA. Here, while Morrisey claims that he could not adequately prepare a defense or cross-examination because he did not know in advance what Dr. Symes' opinions and conclusions were, the record reflects that Morrisey in fact cross-examined Dr. Symes at length. Morrisey surmises that he could have prepared a more vigorous cross-examination; yet, he fails to provide any concrete factual analysis to support this claim. Finally, Morrisey asserts that the State's nondisclosure was inherently prejudicial; but on the record before us, we are not persuaded that such prejudice exists here. In short, Morrisey has not adequately demonstrated that he was prejudiced by the State's violation of § 46-15-322(1)(c), MCA.