Goodwin v. State

573 N.E.2d 895, 1991 Ind. App. LEXIS 991, 1991 WL 115534
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 24, 1991
Docket46A03-9012-CR-00558
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 573 N.E.2d 895 (Goodwin v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Goodwin v. State, 573 N.E.2d 895, 1991 Ind. App. LEXIS 991, 1991 WL 115534 (Ind. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

STATON, Judge.

Robert Leroy Goodwin appeals his conviction for rape, a class B felony, raising the following four issues for our review:

I. Whether the trial court erred in permitting five witnesses other than the victim to relate the vie-tim's version of the events as told to them.
II. Whether the psychologist/patient privilege was violated when the vie-tim's treating psychologist testified concerning confidential communications where there was no evidence of a waiver of the privilege by the victim.
III. Whether the trial court erred in permitting a psychologist to testify regarding the characteristics of rape victims.
IV,. Whether the trial court erred in enhancing Goodwin's sentence based upon the age of the thirteen-year-old victim.

We affirm.

On July 17, 1988, Goodwin stopped his car to speak with K.M., a thirteen-year-old girl whom he knew through a girlfriend. After a short conversation, Goodwin grabbed K.M. by the wrist and pulled her into the car, telling her he was going to pick up his brother. Goodwin drove to a deserted parking lot and forced K.M. to submit to sexual intercourse.

The prosecutor charged Goodwin with rape, for which he was convicted pursuant to a jury trial. The trial court enhanced the presumptive ten year sentence by five years, naming as an aggravating factor the age of the victim. Goodwin appeals.

I.

Repetitive Testimony

Goodwin first contends that the trial court erred in allowing five witnesses to repeat the victim's version of the events in question, citing Stone v. State (1989), Ind.App., 536 N.E.2d 534, transfer denied. We were faced with this precise issue in Durbin v. State (1989), Ind.App., 547 N.E.2d 1096. We held that the failure of the defendant to object to the cumulative testimony constituted a waiver of the issue for purposes of appeal. Id. at 1099, n. 2. As in Durbin, the record here reveals no objection to the testimony. Thus, the issue is waived.

IL

Privilege

The prosecution offered the testimony of Dr. Spafford, a psychologist who examined K.M. and concluded that she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Defense counsel objected to her testimony regarding what K.M. had related to her about the incident on the basis that K.M. had not waived the psychologist/patient privilege. Counsel argued that Dr. Spaf-ford was unable to testify regarding the confidential communications. On appeal, Goodwin cites Indiana Code § 25-88-1-17 *897 and Indiana Code § 85-37-6-1 et seq. in support of his argument that the trial court erred in permitting Dr. Spafford to testify regarding the conversations between her and her patient.

Goodwin's argument has no merit. Evidentiary privileges are generally disfavored and must be strictly construed. Matter of L.J.M. (1985), Ind.App., 473 N.E.2d 637, 642. Despite the apparent prohibitory language of our physician/patient privilege statute, 1 it has been consistently construed not to create an absolute incompetency, but a privilege for the benefit of the patient, which she may claim or waive. Stayner v. Nye (1949), 227 Ind. 231, 85 N.E.2d 496, 499.

Our supreme court was faced with a similar issue in Howk v. State (1897), 148 Ind. 238, 46 N.E. 127, reh'g denied 148 Ind. 238, 47 N.E. 465, overruled on other grounds by White v. State, (1955), 234 Ind. 209, 125 N.E.2d 705. In Howuk, the defendant was convicted of producing an abortion. On appeal, the defendant argued that the trial court erred in permitting the physician who examined the victim to testify as to the results of the examination, contending that permitting such testimony was a violation of the physician/patient privilege. Our supreme court stated:

The rule declared by the statute, which forbids a physician to reveal in evidence matters discovered by him in the course of professional attendance or treatment of a patient, is intended to protect the latter, and not to shield one who is charged with perpetrating an unlawful act upon the patient. The statute cannot be so construed as to permit a party charged with a crime to invoke it as a weapon of defense in his own favor, instead of its being used as a protection to his victim. This interpretation, in our opinion, accords with reason, and is supported by authority. Pierson v. People, 79 N.Y. 424. The court did not err in admitting the evidence in dispute.

46 N.E. at 134.

We believe the same result is compelled here. The statutory psychologist/patient privilege is held by the patient or her legal representative, and may only be asserted by her or her representative. It may not be used as a weapon by one accused of raping her to prevent the introduction of otherwise admissible evidence of the rape. The trial court did not err in permitting Dr. Spafford to testify regarding the conversations between the psychologist and her client. 2

IIL.

Psychologist's Testimony

Goodwin contends that the trial court erred in permitting the following testimony from Dr. Spafford:

Q: Did you feel that it was unusual for her not to-or to confide in a friend like this? MR. PAGOS: Well, I'll object to that question, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Well, what's the purpose of it?
MR. HALE: What's the objection?
MR. PAGOS: Well, the objection is this witness cannot-that it's irrelevant *898 what she feels is unusual for someone else to do.
THE COURT: Not if it's within the realm of her expertise. Go ahead.
A: No, I don't think it's at all unusual.
Q: Why not?
A: Because I think she was in a state of shock and I think people behave along a wide range of behaviors when they feel that way. She was probably very frightened and she didn't know whether to tell her mother or not. So, she turned to a friend. I think that's quite natural under the circumstances; or could be.
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Q: Were her feelings and her behaviors you've described consistent with the event that she described to you?
MR. PAGOS: I'll object, Your Honor. It's clearly going to the believability of the witness; and that invades the province of the jury. They're calling in witness [sic] to say is this witness believable.
MR. HALE: I don't think that's the question at all, Your Honor.
THE COURT: No, he's not asking that question.

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Bluebook (online)
573 N.E.2d 895, 1991 Ind. App. LEXIS 991, 1991 WL 115534, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goodwin-v-state-indctapp-1991.