Court Opinion

ID: 9798022
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 04:34:48.096844+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:00:33.186664
License: Public Domain

LUMPKIN, Vice-Presiding Judge:
dissent.
¶ 1 Upon a review of the record in this case, I find the trial judge has provided a more accurate analysis of the evidence in this case than related in this opinion and therefore, I must dissent.
¶ 2 Initially, I find the broad range of IQ test results spanning from 50 to 83 made a ipso facto showing Petitioner is not mentally retarded. Mental retardation is a cognitive defect that originates at birth and is not subject to change over time. See Murphy v. State, 2003 OK CR 6, ¶ 23, 66 P.3d 456, 460. A truly mentally retarded individual will not, can not, produce test results over such a broad spectrum as has Petitioner.
¶ 3 Further, I disagree with the majority’s characterization of Dr. Call’s testimony. Dr. Call, a board certified forensic psychologist, is well known to this Court for his testimony in several of the recent cases involving issues *635relating to mental retardation. The majority indicates that in testifying to Dr. Price’s findings and opinion, Dr. Call used improper testing procedures, tests not “normed” for a person like Petitioner, and did not properly report the results. This is an incorrect statement of the record. The record reflects Dr. Call fully explained and disclosed his testing procedures, the tests were “normed” or appropriate for Petitioner, and that he reported all results.
¶ 4 The opinion further confuses the use of an “administrative pseudonym” to disguise the nature of an otherwise scientifically recognized test with the failure to use a scientifically recognized test. The record reflects the witnesses agreed there was no such independently recognized test labeled the “Blackwell Memory Test”. This was merely a label utilized to hide the purpose of the test from the test taker, the purpose being to identify malingerers. The actual test was the “Forced Choice Symptom Validity Test”, as referred to by Dr. Call, or simply “Symptom Validity Testing” as recognized by Richard Rogers, Editor, not the author, of the book, Clinical Assessment of Malingering and Deception, Second Edition (1997).1 Therefore, the testing procedure was recognized as a valid, scientific testing method, only the method of giving the test was in question. That issue had nothing to do with how Dr. Call might have labeled the test to deceive Petitioner as to the true meaning of the test, i.e. determine whether Petitioner was faking his level of mental capacity at the time.
¶ 5 I view the allegation of error due to the use of the pseudonym on the heading of the test a “red herring” in determining the real issues presented in this case. The evidence reveals Dr. Call did not administer a test he just dreamed up or created on his own. He administered a Forced Choice Symptom Validity Test which utilized accepted principles supported by scientific literature in the field. It appears this test was consistent with the accepted TOMM test for which Petitioner’s trial counsel did prepare. ■ Was the use of the term “Blackwell Memory Test” somewhat deceptive to counsel in the discovery process, as well as Petitioner in the testing process? Yes, but all counsel had to do was ask for a clarification as to the nature of the test and counsel would have been informed the test was simply a recognized application of the Forced Choice Symptom Validity Test that had been disguised to get Petitioner’s actual responses rather than a possible contrived response. Counsel did not do that. So, the only question this Court should ask is: “was the failure to ask that one question sufficient to declare trial counsel ineffective?” I don’t think so.
¶ 6 The record reveals the State provided open discovery and Petitioner’s counsel readily admitted they had all the testing information from the State and Dr. Call in sufficient time prior to trial to have researched and discovered this issue. They chose instead to focus on other areas and did not research the specific makeup of this particular testing mechanism. As counsel stated, a strategic choice was made not to give Dr. Call more opportunity to validate his opinions due to the strength of his testimony, albeit potential impeachment may have been available regarding the failure to place the target words in random selection throughout the test. How important the random selection placement is versus the placement made by Dr. Call in the test results we do not know. However, we do know other valid test results confirmed the opinion of malingering and even without the Forced Choice Symptom Validity Test, in this case labeled “Blackwell Memory Test”, Dr. Call’s opinion would have been admissible.
¶ 7 In this case, I trust the findings of a respected, seasoned trial judge, District Judge Allen McCall, over a cold paper record to determine the impact on the jury. This is not a case where the defense was deprived of any evidence or discovery that was needed in the preparation for this trial. Based on my reading of the record presented, I believe this Court is reaching conclusions not supported by the record regarding the tests administered by Dr. Call and his testimony *636in relation to that of other experts. Therefore, I must dissent to the Court’s decision to reverse the jury’s verdict on mental retardation. We should follow the method of analysis set out in our recent case of Myers v. State, 2005 OK CR 22, 130 P.3d 262, 2005 WL 3334712 and not just suppose there is error that does not exist in this record. As Judge McCall stated in his findings, “this was an outstanding jury, very attentive, and fair minded to all witnesses and counsel”. The evidence supports the verdict of the jury and this Court, pursuant to Myers, should affirm that verdict, rather than looking for an excuse to reverse or modify a valid sentence.

. Rogers’ disagreement with the test, as reflected in Petitioner’s supplemental authority was the manner in which it was administered, i.e. failure to present the target word randomly rather than present the correct choice first as was done by Dr. Call.