Middleton v. State

980 So. 2d 351, 2008 WL 1795593
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedApril 22, 2008
Docket2007-KA-01023-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 980 So. 2d 351 (Middleton v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Middleton v. State, 980 So. 2d 351, 2008 WL 1795593 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

980 So.2d 351 (2008)

Andre Deshon MIDDLETON, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2007-KA-01023-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

April 22, 2008.

*352 David L. Walker, Attorney for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Deshun Terrell Martin, Attorney for Appellee.

Before MYERS, P.J., GRIFFIS and ROBERTS, JJ.

MYERS, P.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Andre Deshon Middleton was convicted of felony child abuse in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-5-39(2) (Rev.2006) and sentenced to serve twenty-five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Middleton now appeals that conviction, presenting four issues for review on appeal. Middleton's first three issues seek determination of whether the trial court erred in admitting certain expert testimony. Lastly, Middleton asks whether the trial court erred in denying his motion for a new trial or, in the alternative, a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. On the morning of October 24, 2005, a baby was heard crying for about an hour at the Meadowview apartments. A neighbor, Robert Williams, testified that he heard the baby's cry that morning and also heard something go across the neighbor's floor. Williams then heard a loud thump, and the baby's cries stopped suddenly. A few moments later, Middleton was seen walking down the apartment steps with a child in his arms, I.W.,[1] approaching his Aunt Regina Middleton's apartment. Regina testified that Middleton brought I.W. to her apartment because the child was not breathing. Regina called 911 and instructed Middleton to administer CPR. I.W. was *353 taken by ambulance to Tri-Lakes Hospital. The emergency room doctor, Robert Smith, testified that I.W.'s right pupil was dilated more than the left, indicating possible brain injury. I.W. was less than a year old at the time of the injury. The emergency room transferred the child by helicopter to Le Bonheur Medical Center in Memphis, Tennessee for treatment, due to the difficulty I.W. had breathing and the severity of his injury.

¶ 3. Presently, I.W. is permanently injured and will likely never gain the ability to walk. I.W. is unable to eat solid foods or talk as a normal child of his age. He will likely be in special education classes and need treatment for the rest of his life.

¶ 4. Three experts testified for the State at trial regarding I.W.'s injuries. Dr. Gregory Stidham treated I.W. at the time he arrived at Le Bonheur Medical Center and also testified at trial as an expert for the State. Dr. Stidham is a pediatrician who specializes in critical care medicine. Dr. Thomas Boulden, a radiologist specializing in pediatric care, also testified at trial regarding his expertise in reading and evaluating x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs to provide a diagnosis. Dr. Karen Larkin, who offered her testimony as an expert in the field of pediatrics with a sub-specialty in child abuse, was the last expert to testify for the State. Each expert testified that I.W.'s injuries were sustained most likely as a result of Shaken Baby Syndrome.

¶ 5. Middleton objected to the testimony of Dr. Boulden, Dr. Stidham, and Dr. Larkin. Middleton argued that under the Daubert standard, Shaken Baby Syndrome is not a condition or theory that is generally accepted in the medical community. Middleton argued also that Dr. Boulden was not qualified to testify regarding the mechanism of injury to I.W. Middleton further argued Dr. Stidham was not qualified to testify regarding the characteristics of the injury to I.W. Middleton also objected to the testimony of Dr. Larkin because she had not physically examined I.W., having only reviewed the medical files at the time of her testimony. Middleton also objected to the testimony of Dr. Larkin because her work regarding I.W. had not been subject to peer review. At the close of the State's case, Middleton moved for a directed verdict, arguing that the State had presented insufficient evidence to prove its case. The trial court denied this motion. The jury subsequently found Middleton guilty of felonious child abuse. Middleton subsequently filed a motion for new trial or, in the alternative, a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. These were both denied by the trial court, and Middleton was sentenced, on June 6, 2007, to twenty-five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 6. "A trial judge's determination as to whether a witness is qualified to testify as an expert is given the widest possible discretion and that decision will only be disturbed when there has been a clear abuse of discretion." Smith v. State, 925 So.2d 825, 834 (¶ 23) (Miss.2006) (quoting Logan v. State, 773 So.2d 338, 346-47 (¶ 31) (Miss.2000)). An appellate court will only overturn a trial court's admittance of expert testimony if it can be said that "the [trial court's] discretion was arbitrary and clearly erroneous, amounting to an abuse of discretion." Roberts v. Grafe Auto Co., 701 So.2d 1093, 1098 (Miss.1997) (citing Seal v. Miller, 605 So.2d 240, 243 (Miss.1992)).

¶ 7. Further, we recognize that a motion for a new trial challenges the weight of the evidence, while a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict challenges the *354 sufficiency of the evidence. Dilworth v. State, 909 So.2d 731, 736-37 (¶¶ 17-20) (Miss.2005). This Court must determine whether the trial court committed an abuse of discretion in denying Middleton's motion for a new trial. Id. at 737 (¶ 20) (quoting Howell v. State, 860 So.2d 704, 764 (¶ 212) (Miss.2003)). Further, this Court will only reverse a trial court's denial of a judgment notwithstanding the verdict if the trial court can be said to have abused its discretion. Id. at 736 (¶ 17) (citing Howell, 860 So.2d at 764 (¶ 212)).

DISCUSSION

¶ 8. At trial, the case centered on the testimony of three separate doctors regarding the injuries suffered by I.W. on October 24, 2005. The trial court allowed the testimony of all three medical doctors, finding that they sufficiently qualified as medical experts and would assist the jury in making its determination. Mississippi Rule of Evidence 702 controls the trial court's admittance of expert testimony and reads as follows:

If 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, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.

¶ 9. "When determining admissibility of expert testimony, courts must consider whether the expert opinion is based on scientific knowledge (reliability) and whether the expert opinion will assist the trier of fact to understand or determine a fact in issue (relevance)." Edmonds v. State, 955 So.2d 787, 791 (¶ 5) (Miss.2007) (citing Miss. Transp. Comm'n v. McLemore, 863 So.2d 31, 38 (¶ 16) (Miss.2003)). In addition, the Mississippi Supreme Court stated that:

[t]he Daubert

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980 So. 2d 351, 2008 WL 1795593, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/middleton-v-state-missctapp-2008.