State v. Clements

734 P.2d 1096, 241 Kan. 77, 1987 Kan. LEXIS 304
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedMarch 27, 1987
Docket59,135
StatusPublished
Cited by60 cases

This text of 734 P.2d 1096 (State v. Clements) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Clements, 734 P.2d 1096, 241 Kan. 77, 1987 Kan. LEXIS 304 (kan 1987).

Opinions

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Lockett, J.:

John F. Clements, Jr., appeals his jury trial con[78]*78viction of aggravated criminal sodomy (K.S.A. 1986 Supp. 21-3506[a]).

The general background facts may be summarized as follows. Clements lived with his fiancee in her trailer. The trailer was located approximately 50-70 feet from a baseball card shop operated out of a home. Eleven-year-old P.V. first met the 27-year-old defendant in early May 1985 at the baseball card shop. It was a gathering place for young boys interested in baseball cards. Defendant invited P.V. to his residence several times. Defendant was charged with having sodomized P.V. on the latter’s next to last visit to defendant’s residence in late May 1985. Two counts of promoting obscenity to a minor (K.S.A. 21-430la) involving two other young boys were filed in the same complaint. These latter charges arose from September 1985 incidents which involved showing pornographic material to the boys. Trial on all three charges occurred in December 1985, with defendant being convicted on the obscenity charges. A mistrial was declared on the sodomy charge as the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Upon retrial of the sodomy charge in January 1986, Clements was convicted. This direct appeal is from the sodomy conviction. Additional facts will be stated as necessary for determination of particular issues on appeal.

In his first issue, Clements contends the trial court improperly allowed a mental health therapist to give opinion evidence on the child victim’s credibility.

From September 1985 through the trial in January 1986, P.V. was being counseled by Thomas Pletcher, a mental health therapist. His background included experience with sexually abused victims and specialized training for the treatment of sexually abused victims. Pletcher saw P.V. in counseling seven times up to the time of Pletcher’s trial testimony. Pletcher testified as to what P.V. had told him about being sodomized by the defendant. Over defendant’s objection, Pletcher testified that P.V.’s progress in therapy during counseling was consistent with what he would expect when a young boy has been sodomized under such circumstances. Pletcher testified that had P.V. been sodomized over a period of time by a very close family member or forcibly sodomized, the psychological damage would have been greater and his progress in therapy would have been slower. Force was [79]*79not involved in the incident as related by P.V. Defendant, in his testimony, denied any act of sodomy had taken place.

Clements likens Pletcher’s testimony to that held improper in State v. Jackson, 239 Kan. 463, 721 P.2d 232 (1986), and State v. Lash, 237 Kan. 384, 699 P.2d 49 (1985).

In State v. Jackson, the trial court had permitted two expert witnesses, social workers with expertise in child abuse treatment, to testify before a jury that “in their opinions the child was telling the truth and in their opinions the defendant committed the acts of molestation with which he was charged.” 239 Kan. at 470. This court reversed. Labeling the expert opinion testimony as prejudicial error, the court explained:

“Here, the witnesses attempted to serve as human lie detectors for the child and both told the jury that in their professional opinions the child was truthful and the defendant was guilty as charged. We are convinced that it was the function of the jury to hear the testimony of the witnesses as to what the child said, and then to make a determination of the reliability of the child’s statements.” 239 Kan. at 470.

We then held:

“An expert’s opinion in a proper case is admissible up to the point where an expression of opinion would require him to pass upon the credibility of witnesses or the weight of disputed evidence.” 239 Kan. 463, Syl. ¶ 8.

In State v. Lash, 237 Kan. 384, the defendant was accused of sexually molesting his fifteen-year-old son. A psychologist who had interviewed the son was called to testify as an expert witness. The prosecutor asked the psychologist for his opinion, based on results of his testing and interviewing the son, whether the son had been sexually molested by the father. The defense objected. The court then permitted the psychologist to testify as to whether he had an opinion whether the son had been sexually molested, but would not permit the expert to testify as to whether the son had been sexually molested by the father. 237 Kan. at 384-85. The defendant was acquitted. The State appealed on a question reserved, namely, did the trial court err in not permitting the expert to testify that in his opinion the son had been sexually molested by the defendant? We upheld the lower court’s ruling, stating:

“In the case now before us, the alleged victim was fifteen years of age and testified before the jury. The defendant, likewise, testified and denied any acts constituting indecent liberties with his son. In this case, when the prosecutor [80]*80asked the psychologist to give his expert opinion as to whether the alleged victim had been sexually molested by his father, the prosecutor, in effect, was asking the expert for his opinion as to whether the son was telling the truth that his father was his molester. The question clearly was improper, since such an expression of opinion would require the expert to pass upon the credibility of witnesses or the weight of disputed evidence. Under the circumstances shown in the record in this case, we hold that the district court did not err in its ruling that the psychologist could not testify before the jury as to his expert opinion that the alleged victim had been sexually molested by the defendant, his father.” 237 Kan. at 386.

Defendant contends that Pletcher was improperly permitted to testify concerning P.V.’s credibility. We do not agree. Although the complained-of testimony was close to the line of impermissibility, it does not cross the line. The witness did not give an opinion as to whether or not P.V. was telling the truth. Rather, the testimony may be compared to a situation where a patient tells his treating physician he had been held without food and water in a certain type of environment, and the physician testifies the victim’s initial condition and progress in treatment are consistent with the events related to him by the patient. The physician, under such circumstances, is not testifying that any particular person committed a criminal act against his patient or that his patient is telling the truth as to how or by whose acts he suffered injury. The door is thus left open to cross-examination relative to other causal circumstances which might also be consistent with the physician’s opinion as to his patient’s condition and progress.

Mr. Pletcher’s testimony relative to his patient’s initial condition and progress during treatment may tend to corroborate parts of P.V.’s testimony inferentially, but Pletcher’s testimony is not an impermissible opinion on whether or not P.V. is testifying truthfully as to the facts giving rise to sodomy charges.

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Bluebook (online)
734 P.2d 1096, 241 Kan. 77, 1987 Kan. LEXIS 304, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-clements-kan-1987.