Kipp v. State

876 S.W.2d 330, 1994 WL 90546
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 23, 1994
Docket244-91
StatusPublished
Cited by168 cases

This text of 876 S.W.2d 330 (Kipp v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kipp v. State, 876 S.W.2d 330, 1994 WL 90546 (Tex. 1994).

Opinion

OPINION ON APPELLANT’S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

MALONEY, Judge.

Appellant was convicted in a trial by jury of the offense of indecency with a child. The jury assessed punishment at five years confinement, probated. The Court of Appeals affirmed. Kipp v. State, 802 S.W.2d 804 (Tex.App.—Texarkana 1990). 1 We granted appellant’s petition for discretionary review to determine whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding that (1) the trial court properly refused to permit appellant to perfect an offer of proof, (2) the State’s expert witness did not improperly testify about the truth or falsity of the complainant’s testimony, (3) certain hearsay evidence was properly admitted at trial, and (4) the admission of certain extraneous offense evidence was proper.

I. Bill of Exception

At the time of trial the complainant was six years old; the offense occurred when she was three and one half years old. Prior to the complainant’s testimony the trial court questioned her outside the presence of the jury in an effort to determine her competency. Following the court’s questioning appellant objected that the complainant was incompetent to testify and asked to call Dr. Elizabeth Bratteng to testify about “the cognitive capabilities of separating reality from *333 fantasy” of a small child, as an aid to the court in making its ruling on the complainant’s competency. The court denied appellant’s request to call Dr. Bratteng and appellant sought to make a bill of exception in question and answer form. The court denied perfection of the bill in question and answer form, but stated that a bill in summary form would be acceptable. Appellant declined to make a bill in summary form.

On appeal, appellant pointed to Rule of Criminal Evidence 103(b) and Rule of Appellate Procedure 52(b) in support of his claim that he was entitled to perfect a bill in question and answer form. The Court of Appeals acknowledged those rules as providing that the trial court shall at the request of a party direct the making of an offer of proof in question and answer form, but emphasized that both Rules 103(b) and 52(b) apply to “offers of evidence excluded during trial”, implying that the evidence offered here was not excluded during trial. Kipp, 802 S.W.2d at 807 (emphasis in original). The Court of Appeals also held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion, the competency of a witness being within the sound discretion of the trial court under Rule of Criminal Evidence 601(a)(2) and further because Rule of Criminal Evidence 104(a) provides that on preliminary issues such as the qualification of a witness, the trial court is not bound by the Rules of Evidence. Id.

Rule of Criminal Evidence 103(b) and Rule of Appellate Procedure 52(b) each provides that the trial court “at the request of a party shall, direct the making of an (the) offer in question and answer form.” 2 In addition, we have held that “[t]he right to make an offer of proof or perfect a bill of exception is absolute.” Spence v. State, 758 S.W.2d 597, 599 (Tex.Crim.App.1988), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 932, 111 S.Ct. 1339, 113 L.Ed.2d 271 (1991).

We reject the Court of Appeals’ conclusion that Rules 103(b) and 52(b) are inapplicable because they only apply to “offers of evidence excluded during trial”. Because the “trial” was clearly in process at the time of the competency hearing, 3 we can only assume the Court of Appeals meant the evidence was not offered “during trial” because it was offered during a hearing outside the presence of the jury. We have never made such a distinction. See id. (trial court erred under predecessor to Rule 52, in precluding appellant from making offer of proof as to testimony excluded during pre-trial hearing on appellant’s motion to dismiss indictment). Neither does the plain language of either Rule 52(b) or Rule 103(b) make such distinction.

We also reject the Court of Appeals’ holding that appellant was properly precluded from perfecting his bill on the grounds that the trial court is empowered under Rule of Criminal Evidence 601 to determine, within his sound discretion, the competency of child witnesses. The discretion of the trial court to make such a determination does not render it immune from arriving at its determination in accordance with the rules of evidence and procedure. The right to make a bill of exception is absolute; a trial court does not have discretion to deny a request to perfect a bill of exception. See *334 Spence, supra. Rules 104(b) and 52(b) are unequivocal in providing that the trial court shall allow the perfection of a bill in question and answer form at the request of a party.

Finally, the Court of Appeals’ conclusion that pursuant to Rule of Criminal Evidence 104(a) the trial court “is not bound by the rules of evidence” 4 and therefore “was not bound to allow the offer of proof in question and answer form” did not take into account the fact that Rule of Appellate Procedure 52(b) is unaffected by Rule 104(b). Irrespective of any conflict between Rule of Criminal Evidence 104(a) and Rule of Criminal Evidence 103(b), the trial court was still bound by Rule of Appellate Procedure 52(b) which provides that the court “at the request of a party shall, direct the making of the offer in question and answer form.” The Court of Appeals erred in concluding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing appellant’s request to perfect a bill in question and answer form, as required by Rule 52(a).

II. Expert Testimony

In its case in chief, the State called a psychotherapist 5 who testified that she had evaluated the complainant and concluded that the complainant had been sexually abused. 6 The psychotherapist also testified that in her opinion the complainant’s allegations had not been suggested to her by a third person. 7

In presenting his defense, appellant called four experts who testified on the issue of child sexual abuse. 8 A psychiatrist testified that she had evaluated the family and concluded there was no indication that abuse had occurred. She further testified that the complainant’s mother suffered from borderline personality disorder, had a distorted view of reality and projected those views and her feelings onto the complainant who was suggestible. A clinical psychologist testified that the complainant’s mother had a borderline personality disorder, that she had trouble with reality and that she might project her feelings onto her child.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
876 S.W.2d 330, 1994 WL 90546, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kipp-v-state-texcrimapp-1994.