Davis v. State

878 So. 2d 1020, 2004 WL 614800
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided March 30, 2004·No. 2002-KA-01738-COA·Published·Cited by 17 cases

Opinion

878 So.2d 1020 (2004)

Leo Luther DAVIS, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2002-KA-01738-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

March 30, 2004.
Rehearing Denied June 8, 2004.
Certiorari Denied July 29, 2004.

*1022 Kay L. Wilkerson, Gulfport, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Scott Stuart, attorney for appellee.

Before McMILLIN, C.J., IRVING and MYERS, JJ.

IRVING, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Leo Luther Davis was convicted by a jury of the Circuit Court of Harrison County of two counts of sexual battery and sentenced to serve two terms of twenty-five years, running concurrently, in the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Feeling aggrieved by this judgment, Davis appeals and asserts the following issues: (1) whether the trial court erred when it allowed Dr. Matherne to testify about his "fist" technique, (2) whether the trial court erred when it found that the tender years exception was applicable and allowed Lori Ehlers to testify as to statements made by the victim as an exception to the hearsay rule under M.R.E. 803(25), (3) whether the trial court erred when it allowed the testimony of Dr. Matherne as an exception to the hearsay rule under M.R.E. 803(4), (4) whether the trial court erred in not granting *1023 his motion for a directed verdict or peremptory instruction, and (5) whether the trial court erred in not granting his motion for new trial.

¶ 2. Ascertaining no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. On December 31, 2000, Davis went to the Biloxi home of his deceased best friend, George Stille, who had died on December 5, 2000. After George's death, the home was occupied by Reiko Stille, George's mother; Sabrina Stille, George's wife; and his three children. One of George's children was a nine-year-old girl named A.H.

¶ 4. Davis, George's wife, and others were celebrating New Year's Eve. A.H. was in bed in her bedroom that evening. Davis came into A.H.'s bedroom, felt her forehead, cheeks, neck, and chest. He then left A.H.'s room but returned shortly thereafter. He pulled down A.H.'s bed covers, pulled up her shirt, and pulled down her panties. He touched A.H.'s vagina, inserted his finger into it, and told her that she was beautiful. He then withdrew his finger and began licking her vagina. After a couple of minutes, he got up and walked back into the television room. A.H. got up, went to the restroom, and washed herself.

¶ 5. On June 18, 2001, a Harrison County grand jury indicted Davis on two counts of sexual battery against a child under the age of fourteen years. On March 5, 2002, a three-day trial began which ended in a mistrial after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. A second trial was conducted on August 14-15, 2002, where Davis was convicted of both counts and sentenced to two terms of twenty-five years to run concurrently. Davis soon after filed a motion for a new trial which was denied by the trial court. Other pertinent facts will be related during the discussion of the issues.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES

1. Admission of Dr. Matherne's Expert Testimony

¶ 6. Admission or exclusion of expert testimony is controlled by the trial judge's discretion, and an appellate court will not disturb that decision unless the trial court clearly abused that discretion. Sheffield v. Goodwin, 740 So.2d 854, 856(¶ 6) (Miss.1999). However, the discretion of the trial judge must be exercised within the boundaries of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence. Johnston v. State, 567 So.2d 237, 238 (Miss.1990).

¶ 7. Since this issue, as well as issue three, concerns Dr. Matherne's testimony, we combine the two issues for discussion. First, Davis argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it allowed Dr. Matherne, a clinical psychologist, to testify regarding a "fist technique" which he employs young children, who are suspected of having been sexually abused, to use to help demonstrate what occurred during the incidents of sexual abuse. According to Davis, this testimony went beyond the necessary information gathering for medical treatment. He argues that this "fist technique" is scientific evidence and, as such, subject to the admissibility requirements of Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C.Cir.1923).

¶ 8. The State asserts that Dr. Matherne's description of the "fist technique" was only used in his effort to discover how deeply A.H. was penetrated. Moreover, the State contends that Dr. Matherne's testimony concerning the "fist technique" was more accurately a lay opinion and admissible under Rule 701 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence. In its assessment *1024 of the expert testimony offered by Dr. Matherne, the trial court found that he would be testifying to the "fist technique" as a method of information gathering.

¶ 9. We do not find Frye applicable in the resolution of this issue. The Frye standard deals with the qualification criteria for allowing one to testify as an expert witness. See Mississippi Transp. Com'n v. McLemore, 863 So.2d 31 (Miss.2003). Here, Davis does not complain about Dr. Matherne's qualifications as an expert witness; rather, he asserts, without explaining, that the "fist technique," which in reality is nothing more than a hand demonstration, is scientific evidence which must be filtered through the criteria for expert testimony.

¶ 10. We agree with the trial court that the "fist technique" referred to by Dr. Matherne was only a form of information gathering. In his testimony, Dr. Matherne testified that the "fist technique" is a demonstration in which he asks a child to make a fist with one hand, to assume that the fist represents her private area, and to use a finger of the other hand to demonstrate what type of contact was made to her private area. He explained that he uses this procedure to assist in making a determination as to whether a physical examination of the child will be of any benefit. He testified that it was important to know whether digital penetration occurred and, if so, how deeply. He further explained that if the penetration was slight, a physical examination would not necessarily detect any trauma. We find nothing improper with the trial judge's decision to allow this testimony. This issue is without merit.

¶ 11. Secondly, Davis argues that the circuit court erred in allowing Dr. Matherne to testify to statements made to him by A.H. Davis explains that the totality of the information obtained by Dr. Matherne from A.H. was very limited and not the type which a reasonable physician would rely upon. Davis further argues that Dr. Matherne did not conduct a physical examination of A.H.

¶ 12. The trial court allowed Dr. Matherne to testify to statements that A.H. made to him during a psychological evaluation that he conducted on the child. The court allowed the testimony pursuant to Rule 803(4) of the Mississippi Rules Evidence which provides that statements made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment are not excluded by the hearsay rule "if the court, in its discretion, affirmatively finds that the proffered statements were made under circumstances substantially indicating their trustworthiness." M.R.E. 803(4). Before admitting evidence pursuant to M.R.E. 803(4), a two-part test must be met: "the declarant's motive in making the statement must be co

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Davis v. State, 878 So. 2d 1020, 2004 WL 614800 (Mich. Ct. App. 2004).

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