Court Opinion

ID: 9612540
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 04:09:43.539279+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:41:05.533652
License: Public Domain

ERICKSON, Justice,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. In my view, the testimony of the counselor, that the victim’s behavior was consistent with that of a rape victim, was “rape trauma syndrome” evidence and was inadmissible. The trial court neither qualified the counselor as an expert on the rape trauma syndrome nor determined whether the counselor’s rape trauma syndrome testimony was admissible under Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C.Cir.1923).
The majority concludes that the counsel- or’s testimony is not rape trauma syndrome evidence because it was limited to observations of the victim’s demeanor and because the witness did not use the term “rape trauma syndrome” or elaborate upon the syndrome’s different stages. In my view, the distinction elevates form over substance. The failure to use the phrase “rape trauma syndrome” should not permit lay witnesses to describe the typical symptoms of the rape trauma syndrome and to testify that the victim displays those symptoms.
“Rape trauma syndrome” refers to a recurring pattern of emotional distress in rape victims, which is manifested by certain identifiable symptoms. People v. Hampton, 746 P.2d 947 (Colo.1987). In the context of a rape trial, evidence that the victim is suffering from the symptoms constituting the rape trauma syndrome is used to prove that a rape occurred. See People v. Hampton, at 949 (admitted expert testimony identifying symptoms of the rape trauma syndrome and testimony of witnesses that victim suffered from the symptoms to prove that the victim was raped). In this case, Candy Hurst, a counselor in the Victim Services Unit of the Colorado Springs Police Department, identified the stages of emotional adjustment after a traumatic experience and testified, based on her training and interviews of some thirty other rape victims, that the victim had symptoms “consistent with being a rape victim.” The testimony was offered to prove that the victim was raped and did not consent to sexual intercourse with the defendant. Because the counsel- or’s testimony identified typical symptoms of the rape trauma syndrome to prove that the victim was raped, I find the conclusion unavoidable that the counselor’s testimony was rape trauma syndrome evidence.
After concluding that the counselor’s testimony was not rape trauma syndrome evidence, the majority concludes that the counselor’s testimony was admissible under People v. Gallegos, 644 P.2d 920 (Colo.1982). In Gallegos, the sexual assault victim giggled on the witness stand at the preliminary hearing. At trial, the defendant commented that the victim had laughed and giggled throughout the hearing and considered it a “big joke.” To rebut the defendant’s implication, the prosecution presented testimony of a police investigator that the victim had giggled because she was nervous. In Gallegos, we held that the admission of the testimony did not constitute plain error because a witness, who has personally observed the physical activi*961ty of another, may summarize his sensory impressions of that activity.
Gallegos, however, is factually distinguishable from Farley. In Gallegos, the officer did not require specialized knowledge of the symptoms displayed by rape victims to form his opinion. Any lay witness who had observed the victim’s physical behavior at the preliminary hearing could have concluded that the victim had giggled because she was nervous. In contrast, the counselor in Farley based her conclusion upon her knowledge of the rape trauma syndrome. She testified to the several stages of emotional adjustment made by a rape victim following a sexual assault. Based upon her experience with rape victims, the victim’s physical actions, and the answers to her questions, Hurst identified symptoms in the victim typically possessed by rape victims and opined that the victim's behavior was consistent with that of other rape victims.
In my view, the prejudicial effects of admitting rape trauma syndrome evidence under the facts of this case mandate reversal. Although she had had some past contacts with rape victims, Ms. Hurst was never qualified as an expert in the area of rape trauma syndrome. There was also no showing that the premises of the counsel- or’s conclusions were admissible under the Frye test. People v. Hampton, 746 P.2d 947 (Colo.1987) (Erickson, J., dissenting); see State v. Bressman, 236 Kan. 296, 689 P.2d 901 (1984) (error to admit testimony of physician, who was not qualified as expert in area of rape trauma syndrome, that victim’s emotional state was consistent with one of the three categories of typical rape victims and that the victim had been raped); State v. Whitman, 16 Ohio App.3d 246, 475 N.E.2d 486 (1984) (error to admit testimony of social worker, who was not qualified as expert in context of rape trauma syndrome, that victim suffered from symptoms of rape trauma syndrome). I, therefore, believe that Hurst’s testimony was improperly admitted by the trial court.
The majority’s broad interpretation of Gallegos and its holding in Farley will allow lay witnesses to testify to matters requiring specialized knowledge without being qualified as experts. In my view, the court of appeals decision should be reversed and the case remanded for a new trial.
I am authorized to say that Justice KIRSHBAUM joins in this dissent.