Lonnie C. Mclaury v. The State of Wyoming

2013 WY 89, 305 P.3d 1144, 2013 WL 3756668, 2013 Wyo. LEXIS 93
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 18, 2013
DocketS-12-0240
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 2013 WY 89 (Lonnie C. Mclaury v. The State of Wyoming) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lonnie C. Mclaury v. The State of Wyoming, 2013 WY 89, 305 P.3d 1144, 2013 WL 3756668, 2013 Wyo. LEXIS 93 (Wyo. 2013).

Opinions

HILL, Justice.

[T1] A jury convicted Lonnie McLaury of sexual assault in the first degree in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-2-802(a)(ii). On appeal, MceLaury contends that the district court abused its discretion when it allowed a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE nurse) to testify, over his objection, as to the statements made by the victim during the physical examination of her. We affirm the district court.

ISSUE

MclLaury presents one issue:

Did the trial court abuse its discretion in allowing hearsay testimony?

FACTS

On September 27, 2010, the victim and her boyfriend went to visit a friend at his apartment., Lonnie McLaury was also there. While watching television, the victim and her boyfriend fell asleep. The victim was awakened by McLaury digitally penetrating her vagina. She realized the person was McLau-ry and immediately woke her boyfriend, who told MelLaury to stop, grabbed his arm, and threatened to cut his fingers off, The victim and her boyfriend immediately left the apartment.

[¶ 4] After leaving, the victim and her boyfriend drove to the Cheyenne Police Department where they reported the incident. The police officer then asked the victim if she would like to go to the hospital, and she stated that she would. A police report was filed after the victim's report and after the examination at the hospital.

[¶ 5] Based on the police report, McLau-ry was charged with one count of first degree sexual assault under $ 6-2-302(a)(ii). The case went to jury trial, where the SANE nurse testified for the prosecution. Prior to testifying, however, McLaury requested that the district court prohibit the SANE nurse from repeating the statements made to her by the victim during the exam. Defense counsel suggested that the statements were not proper as prior consistent statements and would only serve to bolster the victim's testimony. The State, on the other hand, suggested that such testimony should be allowed as a statement made for the purpose of medical treatment. The district court allowed the testimony, as long as the SANE nurse did not vouch for the victim.

[¶ 6] During the SANE nurse's testimony, she explained why the cireumstances of the assault were necessary to the exam-to determine potential injury and possibly col[1146]*1146lect biological evidence. The SANE nurse then testified that the victim indicated she was sexually assaulted by digital penetration. On cross-examination, defense counsel asked the SANE nurse to clarify the nature of the assault, and then on redirect, the SANE nurse refreshed her recollection with her exam report. The SANE nurse then testified that the victim told her assailant to stop.

A jury found MelLaury guilty as charged, and on May 24, 2012, the district court imposed a sentence of five to seven years, suspended in favor of five years of probation (which was later revoked). This appeal followed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[18] "Our review of rulings by a trial court, admitting or excluding evidence, is premised upon deference to the trial court, and we do not reverse a case because of evidentiary rulings unless an abuse of discretion is demonstrated." Oldman v. State, 998 P.2d 957, 960 (Wyo.2000).

DISCUSSION

[19] In his only issue, MceLaury argues that the district court abused its discretion in allowing hearsay testimony from the SANE nurse who testified about her examination of the victim in this case, and repeated a portion of the victim's statements. Specifically, McLaury contends that the district court did not properly apply the exception and the foundational requirements found in W.R.E. 808(4), "Statements for Purposes of Medical Diagnosis." In response, the State contends that the victim's statements to the SANE nurse were properly admitted under Rule 808(4) and that the foundational requirements under the rule were satisfied.

[¶ 10] Hearsay is "a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted." W.R.E. 801(c) Hearsay is inadmissible unless it falls into one of the exceptions recognized by the rules of evidence, and the exception at issue in this case is found in Rule 803(4), which reads as follows:

Rule 803. Hearsay exceptions; availability of declarant Immaterial.
The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule, even though the declarant is available as a witness:
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(4) Statements for purposes of medical diagnosis or Treatment. Statements made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment and describing medical history, or past or present symptoms, pain, or sensations, or the inception or general character of the cause or external source thereof insofar as reasonably pertinent to diagnosis or treatment.

It has been said by this Court that the reason for this exception is the likelihood that the declarant was motivated to tell the truth by the belief that the effectiveness of the treatment depended upon the accuracy of the information relayed. Oldman, 998 P.2d at 961. A New Mexico Supreme Court case expounded on the line of thinking behind the exception:

Two underlying rationales traditionally animate [the exception]. First, the "help-seeking motivation" counsels that the de-clarant's self-interest in obtaining proper medical attention renders "the usual risks of hearsay testimony ... minimal when associated with medical treatment." In re Esperanza M., 1998-NMCA-039, ¶ 9, 124 N.M. 735, 955 P.2 [P.2d] 204 (1998). Indeed, statements made at the time of treatment may be more reliable than live testimony from the declarant offered at trial months or even years later. See White v. Illinois, 502 U.S. 346, 356, 112 S.Ct. 736, 116 L.Ed.2d 848 (1992) ("[A] statement made in the course of procuring medical services, where the declarant knows that a false statement may cause misdiagnosis or mistreatment, carries special guarantees of credibility that a trier of fact may not think replicated by courtroom testimony.").
The second rationale behind [the exception}, commonly referred to as "pertinence," is that if a statement is pertinent to a medical condition, such that a medical care provider reasonably relies upon it in arriving at a diagnosis or treatment, the [1147]*1147statement is deemed sufficiently reliable to overcome hearsay concerns. Morgan v. Foretich, 846 F.2d 941, 951 (4th Cir.1988) (Powell, J., concurring in part and dissent ing in part [footnote omitted] ) ("[A] fact reliable enough to serve as a basis for a physician's diagnosis or treatment generally is considered sufficiently reliable to escape hearsay proscription."). At common law, these two rationales were considered separate, independent requirements, each of which had to be satisfied to admit statements under the Rule. See id.; United States v. Iron Shell, 633 F.2d 77, 84 (8th Cir.1980).

State v. Mendez, 148 N.M. 761, ¶¶ 20-21, 242 P.3d 328, 334 (N.M.2010).

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2013 WY 89 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2013)

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Bluebook (online)
2013 WY 89, 305 P.3d 1144, 2013 WL 3756668, 2013 Wyo. LEXIS 93, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lonnie-c-mclaury-v-the-state-of-wyoming-wyo-2013.