Court Opinion

ID: 9755531
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 20:41:40.59031+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:08.639371
License: Public Domain

GRANT, Justice,
dissenting.
First, I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the portion of Dr. James Naples’s testimony was properly excluded by the trial court. This involved two areas of testimony: (1) An inconsistency in Dr. Naples’s testimony did not justify exclusion of the testimony, but rather was a matter for the fact finder as to whether the inconsistent statement impeached the credibility of the witness. The testimony involved different terminology, and this should have been a fact issue for the jury. (2) Dr. Naples testified that in his opinion Dr. Charles Fuselier performed a lot of surgery for money that was unnecessary surgery. This testimony was relevant to the issues raised by the pleadings. Dr. Naples testified that he based his opinion on the facts, the x-rays, and medical reports, that he had seen a number of cases where Dr. Fuselier had done multiple procedures at the end of the year, that there would be an economic advantage to the doctor for performing such surgery at that time, that he had seen many patients with complications from the multiple procedures, and that it was his opinion that this unnecessary surgery was gross negligence. This medical expert was in a position of having observed x-rays and medical reports.' This is the type of information that medical experts can rely on to reach such conclusions. He had before him sufficient information on which he could reach a reasonable inference in formulating his opinion. This evidence should not have been excluded.
The majority cites the Texas Supreme Court opinion of Goode v. Shoukfeh, 943 S.W.2d 441, 453 (Tex.1997), to show that a slight bias by a juror does not disqualify *214the juror as a matter of law. The venireman in this case showed more than a slight bias. The Texas Supreme Court in Goode defined bias as “an inclination toward one side of an issue rather than the other, but to disqualify it must appear that the state of mind of the juror leads to the natural inference that he [or she] will not or did not act with impartiality.” Goode, 943 S.W.2d at 453 (citing Compton v. Henrie, 364 S.W.2d 179, 182 (Tex.1963)). The Texas Supreme Court goes on to say that prejudice is defined as “prejudgment, and consequently embraces bias.” Goode, 943 S.W.2d at 453.
As set forth in the majority opinion, John Deese stated in voir dire in the present case that his personal knowledge of one of the attorneys could cause a problem in the case, that the attorney was the consulting attorney for his employer, that he had known the attorney personally for twenty years in a number of capacities, that he considered him a very close friend, that his friendship could cause a problem in the case, and that he would like to be excused. This voir dire response demonstrates an inclination toward one side and the venireman believed that he could not act impartially. The juror’s frank admission of this bias because of friendship was sufficient to support the challenge for cause unless he testified that he could put that matter aside and base his verdict solely on the evidence, which he did not.
Venireman Lewis White told the court during voir dire that he would have trouble sitting in judgment in a medical malpractice case because he had two daughters who were directors of medical records at two different hospitals, that he felt like matters he had heard from his daughters might influence him in the case, and that he had been told that people are trying to get something for nothing. He also told the court that one of his daughters had left her employment with a medical facility in distress, so that he was not sure he could be fair in this situation. He was unresponsive to the court’s question of whether he could listen to the evidence in the case and be completely fair and impartial.
A motion was made to strike these jurors for cause, but the trial court denied that motion, and counsel was forced to use peremptory challenges.
For these reasons, I dissent.