Morgan v. State

995 So. 2d 812, 2008 WL 2345943
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided June 10, 2008·No. 2007-KA-00608-COA·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

995 So.2d 812 (2008)

Stanley MORGAN, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2007-KA-00608-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

June 10, 2008.
Rehearing Denied October 7, 2008.
Certiorari Denied December 4, 2008.

*814 Robert Wendell James, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Billy L. Gore, attorney for appellee.

Before KING, C.J., GRIFFIS and CARLTON, JJ.

KING, C.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Stanley Morgan was convicted in the Circuit Court of Jasper County for the sexual battery of a twelve-year-old child. On appeal, Morgan argues the following issues that we quote verbatim:

I. Whether the trial court erred in allowing, over objection and contrary to an agreed order between the State and the Defendant, the hearsay testimony of Dr. Patricia Tibbs stating, "the boyfriend of the mother molested her."
II. Whether the trial court erred in denying the proffered Jury Instruction D-5.
III. Whether the jury verdict of guilty is the result of bias and passion on the part of the jury and contrary to the credible evidence adduced at trial and the law of this State.

¶ 2. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY[1]

¶ 3. Morgan met S.P. in April 2003. After four months of dating, Morgan moved in with S.P. and her three children. Morgan, who was unemployed during this time, stayed home and babysat S.P.'s children while she worked the night shift.

¶ 4. In the fall of 2003, S.P. became pregnant by Morgan. C.E., S.P.'s oldest child, testified that Morgan began to sexually abuse her during her mother's pregnancy. C.E. explained that Morgan forced her to engage in sexual intercourse with him on several occasions between October 2003 and September 2004. C.E. testified that Morgan threatened to rape her mother if C.E. did not have sex with him. C.E. further testified that she feared Morgan and his threats. At the time of the incidents, C.E. was only twelve years old, and Morgan was thirty years old. In September 2004, C.E. told her mother that Morgan had repeatedly raped her during the past year. Subsequently, S.P. pressed charges against Morgan, who was arrested.

¶ 5. On August 1, 2005, Morgan was indicted for sexual battery and subsequently convicted of this crime. On March 2, 2007, the Circuit Court of Jasper County sentenced him to serve thirty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Morgan filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or motion for a new trial, which the trial court denied on March 12, 2007. Aggrieved, Morgan timely filed this appeal.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 6. This court reviews evidentiary rulings of the trial court under an abuse of *815 discretion standard. Foley v. State, 914 So.2d 677, 682(5) (Miss.2005) (citing Broadhead v. Bonita Lakes Mall, Ltd. P'ship, 702 So.2d 92, 102(35) (Miss.1997)).

ANALYSIS

I. Whether the trial court erred in allowing the hearsay testimony of Dr. Tibbs.

¶ 7. Morgan argues that the State violated the "Agreed Order Concerning Hearsay" that he entered into with the State. In that order, it was agreed that "the medical related witnesses [are] allowed to testify as to what C.E. told them happened to her, just that the medical related witnesses will not testify as to who committed the alleged crime upon her." At trial, after both C.E. and S.P. testified and identified Morgan as the perpetrator, pediatrician Dr. Patricia Tibbs testified about the medical treatment C.E. received from her. The testimony in dispute was as follows:

Q: When [C.E.] first came to you or was brought to you as a patient, was a history taken at that time?
TIBBS: Yes, sir.
Q: And what was the history?
TIBBS: Her mother's ex-boyfriend was sexually abusing her.

Defense counsel objected to the statement as hearsay. The trial court overruled the objection, stating that Dr. Tibbs was "merely relating the history that was provided for her." Later in her testimony, Dr. Tibbs acknowledged that she was not there to offer an opinion as to who penetrated C.E. because she did not know.

¶ 8. Morgan argues that, without any physical evidence linking him to the crime, the hearsay statement made by Dr. Tibbs reinforced in the jury's mind that he was guilty of the crime. Morgan further argues that, in regard to the medical testimony, statements about cause were to be permitted; however, statements about fault should have been excluded. The State argues that the statement is not hearsay because it was not offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted; instead, the statement is merely related to C.E.'s personal history that Dr. Tibbs took during the medical exam. Therefore, the State contends that the trial court did not commit reversible error in overruling Morgan's objection to Dr. Tibbs's testimony.

¶ 9. Mississippi Rule of Evidence 803(4) provides a hearsay exception for statements made for the purposes of medical treatment. Before admitting testimony pursuant to Rule 803(4), the statement must pass a two-part test: (1) "the declarant's motive in making the statement must be consistent with the purposes of promoting treatment" and (2) "the content of the statement must be such as is reasonably relied on by a physician in treatment." Davis v. State, 878 So.2d 1020, 1024(12) (Miss.Ct.App.2004) (quoting Doe v. Doe, 644 So.2d 1199, 1205-06 (Miss.1994)). The supreme court has recognized that "[s]tatements made by a child sexual abuse victim concerning the acts of sexual abuse, along with the identity of the perpetrator, are reasonably pertinent to treatment and are reasonably relied upon by physicians in diagnosis and treatment." Id. at 1024-25(14) (citing Doe, 644 So.2d at 1206).

¶ 10. After learning that C.E. had been sexually abused by Morgan, S.P. took her daughter to Dr. Tibbs for medical treatment. This information was relayed to Dr. Tibbs, who diagnosed and treated C.E. accordingly. Dr. Tibbs examined C.E., and the examination revealed that C.E. had a torn and eroded hymen, indicating that C.E. had been subject to significant vaginal penetration. This prompted Dr. Tibbs to test both C.E. and her mother for any sexually transmitted diseases. Both *816 C.E. and her mother tested positive for chlamydia. It is clear that Dr. Tibbs's testimony related solely to issues consistent with C.E.'s treatment. The statement that "her mother's ex-boyfriend was sexually abusing her" is the type of information doctors rely upon to diagnose and treat patients under these circumstances. Therefore, Dr. Tibbs's testimony was relevant and admissible as it pertained to C.E.'s diagnosis and treatment. Accordingly, we find that the trial court did not err in overruling Morgan's objection to Dr. Tibbs's testimony.

II. Whether the trial court erred in denying the proffered jury instruction D-5.

¶ 11. Jury instruction D-5 reads, "The court instructs the jury that the uncorroborated testimony of a victim should be examined closely and be scrutinized with caution." The trial court refused the instruction because the defense did not present any authority for it. Morgan argues that there is authority for the instruction, and in denying

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Morgan v. State, 995 So. 2d 812, 2008 WL 2345943 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008).

995 So. 2d 812 (Morgan v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Arland Omar Morris v. State of Mississippi
Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2021
Marvin Rerocukus Demond Carver v. State of Mississippi
227 So. 3d 1149 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2016)
Robert Fitzgerald Smith v. State of Mississippi
163 So. 3d 971 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2014)
Lewis v. State
110 So. 3d 814 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2013)
Fountain v. State
85 So. 3d 913 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2012)
Expose v. State
99 So. 3d 1160 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2011)
Hudson v. State
45 So. 3d 1193 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2010)
Dora v. State
20 So. 3d 46 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2009)