People v. Edmonton

126 Cal. Rptr. 2d 836, 103 Cal. App. 4th 557
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 22, 2003
DocketC036988
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 126 Cal. Rptr. 2d 836 (People v. Edmonton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Edmonton, 126 Cal. Rptr. 2d 836, 103 Cal. App. 4th 557 (Cal. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

126 Cal.Rptr.2d 836 (2003)
103 Cal.App.4th 557

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
Kenneth Ian EDMONTON, Defendant and Appellant.

No. C036988.

Court of Appeal, Third District.

November 6, 2002.
Review Granted January 22, 2003.

*837 Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Jo Graves, Senior Assistant Attorney General, W. Scott Thorpe, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Clayton S. Tanaka and Jane N. Kirkland, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Ishikawa Law Office and Brendon Ishikawa, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Certified for Partial Publication.[*]

RAYE, Acting P.J.

Defendant Kenneth Ian Edmonton appeals his commitment under the Sexually Violent Predators Act (SVPA). (Welf. & Inst.Code, § 6600 et seq.) A jury found defendant guilty of two sexually violent offenses and likely to engage in future sexually violent criminal behavior as a result of a diagnosed mental disorder. The trial court ordered defendant committed for two years to the custody of the State Department of Mental Health as a sexually violent predator (SVP). (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 6604.) Defendant appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, alleging instructional error, and arguing the court erred in permitting expert testimony regarding psychological instruments without proof of reliability or general acceptance within the scientific community. We shall affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In December 1999 the Sacramento County District Attorney filed a petition for the extension of defendant's commitment as an SVP. (Welf. & Inst.Code, § 6604.) The petition alleges defendant previously had been convicted of two sexually violent offenses within the meaning of Welfare and Institutions Code section 6600, subdivision (b): a 1974 rape in Nevada and the commission in 1989 of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14.[1] The petition also alleges defendant suffers a current medical disorder making him likely to commit a sexually violent offense upon release from custody.

A jury trial followed. Defendant admitted a 1974 conviction by a Nevada jury of one count of rape by force and two counts *838 of robbery by force. The Nevada court sentenced defendant to 15 years in prison on the rape charge.

Defendant also admitted that in 1990 a jury convicted him of nine counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14. (Pen.Code, § 288, subd. (a).) The court sentenced defendant to 19 years in prison. Because defendant's appeal centers on this second prior conviction, we shall provide some detail of the offenses from the preliminary hearing transcript.

In June 1989 defendant offered to watch an employee's two children, 10-year-old C. and eight-year-old V., over the weekend. After arriving at defendant's apartment and going swimming, C. changed out of her bathing suit. While she changed her clothes, defendant entered the bedroom.

After she put on bike pants and a cropped top, C. did a handstand. Defendant held her waist and flipped up her cropped top, saying "look at your little boobies." C. then wrestled with defendant in the living room in front of a video camera. Defendant offered her $100 if she could pin him. After they wrestled, defendant gave V. a beer and C. a wine cooler. Defendant said he would give C. $5 for each glass of wine cooler she drank. C. drank three or four glasses of wine cooler.

Defendant gave C. see-through pajamas belonging to his wife and asked her to try them on. After C. put them on over her own pajamas, defendant told her the pajamas should be worn without anything underneath. C. took off the wife's pajamas because she did not think it was appropriate for someone her age to be wearing something like that.

Defendant played a pornographic video for C. and V. After watching the video, the three of them went to bed, with defendant lying between C. and V. After V. fell asleep, defendant rubbed C.'s left breast, thigh, and bottom. C. moved away from defendant, but defendant pulled her back and kissed her.

At trial on the petition to commit defendant as an SVP, the prosecution presented testimony by two mental health experts. Dr. Elaine Finnberg, a licensed psychologist, evaluated defendant and concluded he suffered from a current mental disorder making it likely he would commit future sexually violent acts if not treated or held in custody. Finnberg testified defendant suffered from two diagnosable mental disorders: paraphilia involving sexual interests focused on nonconsenting adults or children, and personality disorder with antisocial and borderline features arising out of personality traits that have become chronic.

Finnberg based her paraphilia diagnosis on the 1974 rape conviction and the 1990 lewd and lascivious acts conviction as well as on videotapes belonging to defendant that depicted sexual activity between defendant and young girls or defendant and women who were not aware they were being videotaped. Finnberg based her personality disorder assessment on defendant's criminal history, including nonsexual offenses, and defendant's planning of the 1989 offenses.

Finnberg also testified defendant received a score on the Static-99 diagnostic tool that indicated a likelihood of future sex offenses. She testified, however, that she put "very little" weight on the Static-99 in reaching her conclusion.

The prosecution's other expert, Dr. Kathleen Longwell, concluded that based on her evaluation of defendant, he met the criteria for commitment as an SVP. Longwell based her opinion on research data regarding sexual recidivism in known sex offenders.

*839 Longwell administered the RRASOR (Rapid Risk Assessment for Sexual Offense Recidivism) and Static-99, actuarial instruments adopted by the Department of Mental Health. These actuarial instruments suggested defendant could be categorized with a group of persons who are anticipated to be likely to reoffend. Longwell also considered defendant's denial that he was at risk of reoffending, his lack of remorse, and his tolerant attitude toward child molestation.

Longwell concluded defendant suffers from "paraphilia not otherwise specified and personality disorder not otherwise specified with narcissistic and antisocial traits," which render him likely to engage in future sexually violent behavior.

Defendant testified in his own behalf. He denied committing the 1974 rape in Nevada.

Defendant also testified his actions in 1989 involving C. had been misinterpreted. He admitted "frolicking" with C. but denied commenting on her breasts; offering his wife's pajamas; providing alcohol; showing pornographic videos; or touching her breasts, thigh, or buttocks. He explained the video of the pair wrestling resulted from V.'s playing with the video camera. The defense argued that defendant utilized neither force nor duress on C. The defense noted C. testified at the earlier trial that the alcohol did not cause her to feel drunk.

The defense also presented testimony by Dr. Theodore Donalson, a clinical psychologist specializing in forensic psychology. Donalson evaluated defendant and reviewed the reports of Drs. Finnberg and Longwell. In Donalson's opinion, defendant should not be diagnosed as suffering from paraphilia.

According to Donalson, the DSM-IV's (American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
126 Cal. Rptr. 2d 836, 103 Cal. App. 4th 557, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-edmonton-calctapp-2003.