In Re The Detention Of: James T. Turner

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJune 5, 2017
Docket74248-5
StatusUnpublished

This text of In Re The Detention Of: James T. Turner (In Re The Detention Of: James T. Turner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re The Detention Of: James T. Turner, (Wash. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

In the Matter of the Detention of ) ) No. 74248-5-1 JAMES TAYLOR TURNER, ) ) DIVISION ONE Appellant. ) ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION ) ) ) FILED: June 5, 2017 )

APPELWICK, J. — A jury found Turner to be a sexually violent predator. Turner argues that the evidence was insufficient to show that he suffered from a

mental abnormality, that he committed a recent overt act, or that he is more likely

than not to reoffend. He also argues that the State's expert should not have

been permitted to testify that an actuarial formula underestimated Turner's

likelihood of reoffending. We affirm.

FACTS

In 2007, James Turner pleaded guilty to two counts of second degree

child molestation and two counts of communication with a minor for immoral

purposes. The charges arose from Turner having sexual contact with S.P., who

was 13 at the time. Turner was 20 at the time, but he had told S.P.'s mother that

he was 15 so that S.P.'s mother would allow S.P. to be around Turner.

After pleading guilty to the crimes involving S.P., Turner also disclosed

that he had molested his half sister, S.H. The abuse began when S.H. was six or No. 74248-5-1/2

seven. Turner was about eight years older than S.H. Turner abused S.H. until

Turner moved out of his mother's house at 18.

When he was released from prison, Turner was placed in the Department

of Corrections' Offender Community Reentry Safety Program. Turner's

community corrections officer(CCO)testified that Turner committed a number of

community custody violations after his release. He used the internet to try to

contact S.P. Another violation involved Turner meeting a 14 year old at a bus

stop and eventually kissing her in a park.

Turner also was pursuing a relationship with an adult woman named

Joanna Calderon online and by telephone. The two met over the internet. They

engaged in phone sex involving role play. Calderon sometimes pretended to be

a teenager as young as 13. The role play involved sexual relationships between

brother-sister, uncle-niece, grandfather-granddaughter, and teacher-student.

On another occasion, Turner began exchanging text messages with 15

year old T.A. His CCO discovered the relationship after she noticed Turner

texting T.A. a poem that stated "Roses are red like a sweet, tender kiss engulfs

the soul and fuels the heart. There is only one word for this: DESIRE." Turner

invited T.A. to lunch and had asked her if she would like a massage. He asked

T.A. if he was a "bad boy" for talking to her.

In August 2014, the State petitioned to have Turner committed as a

sexually violent predator (SVP). At trial, the State presented expert testimony

from Dr. Brian Judd. Dr. Judd testified that Turner suffered from pedophilic

disorder, nonexclusive. And, Dr. Judd testified that Turner's communication with

2 No. 74248-5-1/3

T.A. amounted to a recent overt act that justified commitment. Turner presented

testimony from Dr. Paul Spizman, who testified that Turner did not suffer from

pedophilic disorder.

The jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that Turner qualified as an

SVP. The trial court entered an order of commitment. Turner appeals.

DISCUSSION

Turner argues that the trial court erred in allowing the State's expert to

testify that an actuarial tool underestimated his likelihood of reoffending. Turner

also argues that the evidence was insufficient to show that he is a sexually

violent predator.

I. Expert testimony

Turner contends that the trial court violated both ER 702 and ER 403

when it allowed Dr. Judd to testify that an actuarial formula underestimated

Turner's likelihood of reoffending.

Dr. Judd testified that one actuarial tool, Static 99-R, put Turner's

likelihood of reoffending at 21.2 percent within five years, and 32.1 percent within

10 years. But, he stated that this tool underestimates the actual risk of

reoffending for two reasons.

First, it accounts for only "rap sheet sexual recidivism." That is, the tool

uses data about only crimes that are explicitly sexual offenses. But, it does not

account for crimes that are not explicitly sexual, but are sexually motivated. For

example, Dr. Judd noted that a crime such as kidnapping may be sexually

motivated, but not accounted for in the Static 99-R, because it is not an explicitly

3 No. 74248-5-1/4

sexual offense. According to Dr. Judd, many crimes can be sexually motivated

even if they are not explicitly sexual.

Second, Dr. Judd also opined that the Static 99-R tool underestimated risk

of reoffending, because research shows that the majority of sexually motivated

crimes go unreported. For these two reasons, he concluded that the Static 99-R

tool underestimated the risk of reoffending "at multiple levels."

ER 702 provides that "[i]f scientific, technical, or other specialized

knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine

a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience,

training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise."

Admissibility of expert testimony under ER 702 is within the trial court's

discretion. In re Det. of Coe, 160 Wn. App. 809, 818, 250 P.3d 1056 (2011),

aff'd, 175 Wn.2d 482, 283 P.3d 29(2012). ER 702 requires that expert testimony

be based on sufficient foundational facts to support the expert's opinion. State v.

Pittman, 88 Wn. App. 188, 198, 943 P.2d 713(1997).

Actuarial instruments are often used in SVP trials to aid in the prediction of

an offender's future dangerousness. See, e.g., In re Det. of Thorell, 149 Wn.2d

724, 753, 72 P.3d 708 (2003). Our Supreme Court has held that actuarial tools

satisfy the Frvel standard and are admissible evidence. See id. at 755-56.

In Thorell, the court held that conflicting conclusions on likelihood of

reoffending between clinical and actuarial assessments go to the weight of the

evidence, rather than admissibility. Id. at 753-54, 756. Thus, when an expert's

1 Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013(D.C. Cir. 1923)

4 No. 74248-5-1/5

clinical opinion conflicts with an actuarial tool, both are admissible and the jury

may weigh each source of evidence. See id. at 756.

Turner claims that Dr. Judd's comments on the Static 99-R's shortcomings

were impermissibly speculative. But, Dr. Judd cited scientific sources for his

claim that most sexual offenses go unreported. Specifically, he cited a study

showing that, for every 30 sex offenses, offenders are arrested for only one

actual offense. He also cited a study showing that only 33 percent to 45 percent

of sexual assaults are reported. And, he gave an example of one of Turner's

acts that was not prosecuted, and therefore did not factor into the Static 99-R

assessment. Therefore, he testified that the Static 99-R's input variables are

imperfect, and the results were accordingly imperfect. In Thorell, the court noted

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