Court Opinion

ID: 9623501
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 06:34:52.303396+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:02:56.521878
License: Public Domain

HUNSTEIN, Presiding Justice,
dissenting.
1. I cannot agree with the majority’s holding in Division 1 that parties in criminal and civil cases are not similarly situated when it comes to the qualifications of expert witnesses. Because I would hold that they are similarly situated and, further, that there is no rational basis for the distinction drawn by the Legislature, I would find that OCGA § 24-9-67.1 violates appellants’ equal protection rights.
OCGA § 24-9-67.1 sets forth the core qualifications required of expert opinion testimony in Georgia courts, namely, that it be the product of reliable principles and methods applied reliably to the facts of the case. Yet the Legislature imposes these qualifications only on potential expert witnesses in civil cases. The majority concludes *283this is perfectly acceptable because civil and criminal litigants are not similarly situated. I cannot agree. Reliable expert opinion testimony is no less important in criminal cases than it is in civil cases. Neither civil nor criminal parties stand to gain any benefit from the admission of expert opinion testimony that is the product of unreliable principles and methods applied unreliably to the facts of their cases. Merely because we have recognized that civil and criminal litigants are not similarly situated in other circumstances does not preclude this Court from recognizing that in regard to OCGA § 24-9-67.1, civil and criminal parties are not just similarly but equally situated when it comes to the need for qualified, reliable expert opinion testimony at trial.5
I would recognize that, for purpose of analyzing appellants’ equal protection challenge, civil and criminal litigants are similarly situated and that no rational basis exists for treating them differently. There is no rational reason to subject evidence affecting an individual’s life and liberty to less rigorous standards of admissibility than that applied to evidence affecting mere property. The expert opinion evidence heard by a jury deciding a negligence claim against a podiatrist should not be more reliable than expert opinion evidence admitted to support imposition of a death sentence. While this Court has upheld different evidentiary standards between criminal and civil trials, e.g., Sims v. State, 260 Ga. 782 (399 SE2d 924) (1991) (under OCGA § 24-9-5, child who does not understand nature of oath is competent in criminal trial to testify about crimes witnessed by or perpetrated on the child, even though that same child would not be competent to testify about those same matters in any civil case other than deprivation proceedings), the Legislature had a rational reason for those distinctions. In the case of Sims, that reason was constitutionally compelling, namely, a criminal defendant’s right to confront the witnesses against him, even when those witnesses are children too young to understand the nature of an oath. In Bell v. Austin, 278 Ga. 844 (2) (a) (607 SE2d 569) (2005) (upholding OCGA § 24-3-18, which sets forth a hearsay exception for the use of unsworn medical records in civil cases involving injury or disease), its readily discernible rational basis was the goal of minimizing the disruption to the work of medical professionals by dispensing with the need for their *284sworn testimony in the most typical cases where routine medical records6 are sought to be admitted.
There is no rational reason for the Legislature to limit solely to civil cases the use of expert opinion testimony that is the product of reliable principles and methods applied reliably to the facts of a case. By creating different standards of admissibility based only on the nature of the litigation, OCGA § 24-9-67.1 creates the untenable situation where the same evidence proffered by the same expert witness for the same purpose may be allowed in criminal trials but excluded in civil trials. That expert’s opinion testimony should be admitted or excluded for the same reasons in every case tried in our courts, without regard to whether the case is civil or criminal. There is, and can be, no legitimate, rational reason to distinguish between the nature of the litigation when it comes to the admissibility of the same testimony by the same expert witness. It is an affront to our concept of justice to deem reliable, qualified expert opinion testimony to be more important in civil cases than in criminal cases. I would therefore hold that OCGA § 24-9-67.1 violates the equal protection clauses of the United States and Georgia Constitutions.
2. I am also compelled to write in opposition to the majority’s opinion upholding the constitutionality of OCGA § 24-9-67.1 (f) because it represents a blatant attempt by the Legislature to usurp judicial power. Subsection (f) provides that
[i]t is the intent of the legislature that, in all civil cases, the courts of the State of Georgia not be viewed as open to expert evidence that would not be admissible in other states. Therefore, in interpreting and applying this Code section, the courts of this state may draw from the opinions of the United States Supreme Court in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993); General Electric Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136 (1997); Kumho Tire Co. Ltd. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999); and other cases in federal courts applying the standards announced by the United States Supreme Court in these cases.
The Constitution vests all legislative power in the General Assembly. Art. Ill, Sec. I, Par. I. It vests all judicial power in the courts. Art. VI, Sec. I, Par. I. It commands that these powers “remain forever separate and distinct.” Art. I, Sec. II, Par. III. As we have long *285recognized, “[i]n the dividing line of power between these co-ordinate branches we find here the boundary — construction belongs to Courts, legislation to the Legislature. We cannot add a line to the law, nor can the Legislature enlarge or diminish a law by construction.” Calhoun v. McLendon, 42 Ga. 405, 407-408 (1871). The judiciary under our government is alone empowered to interpret the laws. Id. at 407.
While the line of demarcation separating the legislative, judicial, and executive powers may sometimes be difficult to establish, and for this reason each of the three co-ordinate branches of government frequently invades the province of the others, it is nevertheless essential to the very foundation of our system of government that the mandate of the constitution be strictly enforced. The judicial branch doubtless invades the legislative field more frequently than does the legislative branch the judicial field, but it is the duty of each to zealously protect its function from invasion of the others. The legislature has ample power to prevent attempted judicial legislation. Likewise the judiciary has the power to prevent judicial functions by the legislature, and the welfare of the State demands that it exercise this power when necessary.
McCutcheon v. Smith, 199 Ga. 685, 690-691 (2) (35 SE2d 144) (1945).
Subsection (f) of OCGA § 24-9-67.1 is not the first time the Legislature has acted to usurp judicial power and in the past this Court has repeatedly and flatly rebuked such efforts. In Martin v. Baldwin, 215 Ga. 293 (110 SE2d 344) (1959), the Legislature responded to the construction given a statute by the Court of Appeals by adopting a resolution that “made no change” in the statute itself, “but merely declared the legislative intent.” Id. at 299. We responded by holding that the “mere” declaration of intent “ ‘is clearly an attempt by the legislature to perform a judicial function by construing a law, and offends [Art. I, Sec. II, Par. Ill] of the Constitution of this State, and is void.’ [Cit.]” Id. In Calhoun v. State Highway Dept., 223 Ga. 65 (153 SE2d 418) (1967), we held that
[i]t is beyond the power of the General Assembly to specify what evidence can or can not be introduced to prove just and adequate compensation. If [the Legislature] have such power they could exclude all evidence and thus destroy the Constitution and private property also. If they can by the 1966 Act exclude evidence held judicially to be relevant and *286admissible as was done in [an earlier opinion], they can render the judiciary impotent. [Cits.]
Id. at 68. We have recognized that our zealous protection of the courts is necessary because “[s]uch palpable usurpation of exclusive judicial functions by the legislature offends the Constitution, paralyzes the judicial function, . . . and constitutes a potential destruction of the judicial process.” Northside Manor, Inc. v. Vann, 219 Ga. 298, 301 (133 SE2d 32) (1963). Accord United Hospitals Service Assn. v. Fulton County, 216 Ga. 30, 33 (114 SE2d 524) (1960); McCutcheon, supra, 199 Ga. at 691 (2); Calhoun, supra; J.M.I.C. Life Ins. Co. v. Toole, 280 Ga. App. 372 (1) (b) (634 SE2d 123) (2006).
Rather than zealously protecting judicial functions from legislative usurpation, the majority chooses instead to characterize the Legislature’s codified directive in OCGA§ 24-9-67.1 (f) as a “permissive suggestion” that “merely state [s] a principle of law regularly employed by Georgia courts.” Maj. Op., p. 276. However, the majority cannot cite to a single other statute enacted in this State in which the Legislature has codified the specific judicial opinions it wants the courts to consider in construing the legislation it has enacted. Unlike OCGA§§ 10-1-256 and 10-1-391, which expressly reference the Federal legislation that was the source for those statutory provisions, the Legislature did not indicate that OCGA § 24-9-67.1 be construed with “due consideration” or “consistent with” the interpretations relating to the Federal Rules of Evidence, Rules 702 and 703, 28 U.S.C.A. Statutes that acknowledge the source for legislative language and express the Legislature’s desire for consistency among the courts in the interpretation to be given that language present a far different situation from the Legislature’s blatant attempt to usurp judicial functions in OCGA § 24-9-67.1 (f) by directing the courts to “draw from” Daubert, Joiner and Kumho Tire Company, supra.
The majority depicts subsection (f) as a “permissive suggestion” but since when have the courts of this State needed the Legislature to “suggest” that we have “permission” to consider Federal and foreign authorities in interpreting Georgia statutes? The courts are completely capable of identifying cases that we “may draw from” with or without the Legislature’s permission. It is, after all, a primary function of courts to identify the legal precedent that is pertinent to the interpretation of a statute. Thus, even when characterized as a “suggestion,” I would recognize that subsection (f) constitutes an impermissible encroachment on judicial authority.
OCGA § 24-9-67.1 (f) is not an instance in which the Legislature has exercised its ample power to correct a judicial construction it believes has led to an undesired application of a statute. E.g., Ga. L. 1998, p. 180, § 1 (amending OCGA § 17-10-6.1 and passing new *287version of OCGA § 42-8-66 in response to State v. Allmond, 225 Ga. App. 509 (484 SE2d 306) (1997)). Nor is it an instance of subsequent legislation declaring the intent of the legislating body in enacting an earlier statute. See, e.g., Jackson v. Delk, 257 Ga. 541 (3) (361 SE2d 370) (1987). It is not even an expression of legislative intention regarding changes in statutes to be effective upon certain judicial rulings. E.g., Ga. L. 2000, p. 947 (stating the General Assembly’s intention that “persons sentenced to death for crimes committed prior to May 1, 2000 be executed by lethal injection if” death by electrocution was declared unconstitutional). Rather, subsection (f) is an impermissible directive by the Legislature to the Judiciary regarding the future construction the Legislature wants the courts of this State to place on OCGA§ 24-9-67.1. The Legislature is dictating, in no uncertain terms, that “reliable” expert opinion testimony is only that expert evidence held to be admissible in other states under the standards in Daubert and the other cited U. S. Supreme Court cases. In McCutcheon, supra, 199 Ga. at 691 (2), we recognized that there are times when the welfare of the State demands that this Court exercise its power and protect the judicial department from invasion by the legislative department. I would exercise that power now in the face of the threat subsection (f) presents to the independent functioning of the Judiciary.
The majority’s opinion, by not merely permitting but positively condoning the Legislature’s usurpation of judicial functions, will open the floodgates to future legislative “suggestions” directing the courts in the manner in which statutes “may” be interpreted. Rather than using its power to amend statutes or enact new law to address judicial rulings with which it disagrees, the Legislature is now empowered to preempt such problems by codifying the precise manner in which it wants its statutes interpreted by the courts, even to the point of directing the courts to the case citations for the appellate opinions it deems applicable. OCGA § 24-9-67.1 (f) turns on its head “the universal rule of our system — indeed of the English system of government, and of other systems which approximate to free government — [that] the courts declare what the law is, the legislature declares what the law shall be.” McCutcheon, supra, 199 Ga. at 691 (2).
In addition to the not insignificant separation of powers violation presented by OCGA § 24-9-67.1 (f), there is the problem that its directive is unworkable and uninformed. The first sentence of OCGA § 24-9-67.1 (f) provides that “[i]t is the intent of the legislature that, in all civil cases, the courts of the State of Georgia not be viewed as open to expert evidence that would not be admissible in other states.” I agree with the trial court that this sentence is unconstitutionally *288vague and thus void.7 The trial court phrased its ruling succinctly when it concluded that this language
begs the question: to which other states are our courts to look when deciding whether expert evidence is admissible? According to one study, in 2004 there were 26 states classified as Daubert states and 15 classified as Frye [u. United States, 293 F 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923)] states, with the remainder “rely[ing] only on their state equivalents of the original [Federal Rule of Evidence] 702. . . . Although there are 26 Daubert states, there are significant differences among them, primarily due to how narrowly they apply the reliability requirement. [Cit.]
(Emphasis in original.) Aside from amply demonstrating the Legislature’s ignorance of the development of post-Daubert law, application of the Legislature’s “intent” in subsection (f) leads to the absurd result that “other states” would govern the admissibility of expert opinion testimony in Georgia. Whether considered as a directive or a mere statement of intent, subsection (f) is so vague that people of common intelligence must necessarily guess as to its meanings and differ as to its application. It should accordingly be deemed void. See generally Anderson v. Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, Inc., 273 Ga. 113, 114 (1) (a) (537 SE2d 345) (2000).
In conclusion, the decisions of this Court have made it unmistakably clear that while the Legislature alone can enact laws, the Judiciary alone can construe those laws. Northside Manor, supra, 219 Ga. at 301; McCutcheon, supra, 199 Ga. at 691 (2); J.M.I.C. Life Ins. Co., supra, 280 Ga. App. at 374 (1) (b). It is the responsibility of this Court to protect judicial functions from usurpation by the Legislature. The Legislature cannot control the courts’ interpretation of what evidence proves an expert’s opinion is “reliable” any more than it can control the courts’ interpretation of what evidence proves compensation is “just and adequate.” Calhoun, supra, 223 Ga. at 67. I would therefore hold that because the Legislature’s codified directive in subsection (f) to the courts regarding the construction to be given OCGA § 24-9-67.1 is an impermissible attempt to invade the exclusive jurisdiction of the judicial department, it offends the constitutional separation of powers and is therefore void. Accordingly, I *289must respectfully dissent to the majority’s holding.8
Decided March 10, 2008.
Garland, Samuel & Loeb, David E. Tuszynski, for appellants.
Hall, Booth, Smith & Slover, Robert L. Shannon, Jr., Kevin D. Abernethy, Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, Frank M. Lowrey IV, for appellees.
Doffermyre, Shields, Canfield&Knowles, Leslie J. Bryan, Charles M. Cork III, David A. Webster, Adrienne R Hobbs, Alston & Bird, Laura L. Owens, Lucas Przymusinski, Powell Goldstein, Robert M. Travis, Lee Ann Jones, Freeman, Mathis & Gary, Theodore Freeman, Brinson, Askew, Berry, Seigler & Richardson, Robert M. Brinson, King & Spalding, J. Kevin Buster, W. Ray Persons, amici curiae.
I am authorized to state that Justice Carley joins in Division 2 of this dissent.

 In asserting in its footnote 2 that appellants lack “standing” to raise this constitutional claim, the majority mischaracterizes appellants’ equal protection challenge. Appellants do not assert that criminal defendants are “disadvantaged” by OCGA § 24-9-67.1. If anything, the statute “disadvantages” only civil litigants, in that it precludes them from using the same expert to give the same testimony that the statute allows either the State or the defendant to use in any criminal trial.

 The statute expressly recognizes that objections may be made and the report’s author called for cross-examination or rebuttal when there are disputes over any portion of the medical record. Id. at (a).

 Given this express holding by the trial court, I can only puzzle over the majority’s statement that the trial court ruled only on the separation of powers violation and did not otherwise address the constitutionality of the first sentence of OCGA § 24-9-67.1 (f).

 Because I would hold that OCGA § 24-9-67.1 is unconstitutional as a violation of equal protection, I need not detail the evidentiary flaws that support my objections to the majority’s affirmance of the exclusion of testimony by Ziem and Huggins.