State v. Hiatt

733 P.2d 1373, 303 Or. 60, 1987 Ore. LEXIS 1189
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 17, 1987
DocketCC CF 85-195; CA A37976; SC S33110
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 733 P.2d 1373 (State v. Hiatt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Hiatt, 733 P.2d 1373, 303 Or. 60, 1987 Ore. LEXIS 1189 (Or. 1987).

Opinions

[62]*62JONES, J.

Defendant petitions this court to reverse his convictions for Rape in the First Degree and Sodomy in the First Degree. He alleges that the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the trial court’s denial of both his motion for a psychological examination of the victim and his motion for a continuance to subpoena a psychotherapist who previously examined the victim. We affirm.

The charges arose from defendant’s relationship with the daughter of his former wife. Defendant married the child’s mother in 1976. They separated in August of 1982. In November 1982, the two children (the victim and her half-sister) were left in defendant’s custody because their mother was unable to support them financially. The children remained with defendant until February 1983, when they returned to their mother. The couple divorced in October 1984.

After returning to her mother, the victim traveled to Arizona for several weeks in order to visit with her natural father and his parents. In June 1983, she informed her grandmother that she had been sexually molested by defendant while she had been in his sole custody. This information led to an investigation by Oregon authorities. The Children’s Services Division of the Department of Human Resources (CSD) reported the allegations to the District Attorney of Umatilla County.1 Subsequently, the Umatilla County District Attor[63]*63ney’s Office brought these charges against defendant.

Prior to trial, defendant moved to have the child submit to a psychological examination to determine whether she was competent to testify as a witness. Defendant based this motion on his claims that the child had a history of physical (non-sexual) abuse by her natural father and behavioral problems which had led to her commitment in juvenile facilities and the prescribed use of psychotropic medications. The trial judge denied this motion, stating:

“The very narrow issue before the Court is whether this Court should allow psychiatric examination of the witnesses to determine their competency. Competency * * * is ultimately an issue to the Court alone, and if these children are age 12 and 13, as has been represented, they’re presumptively competent.
“The only thing for the Court ever to determine incompetency, is whether or not the witness, having perceived, can relate those things they have in fact perceived. I think there’s been an insufficient showing of compelling circumstances to permit [the motion]. There is no evidence before this Court of mental or emotional instability by these girls — certainly whether or not their stories are corroborated, whether they reported tardily, whether they changed their stories — rather relate to credibility, which is a distinct and separate issue from competence.
“In any event, should the Court allow [the motion], which I’m declining to do so, I don’t see how the Court should, if the mother of the girls declines, how the Court could order it.
“She’s not the party before the Court, so I have no authority over her. I appreciate that issue is not before the Court at this time, but it certainly is something the Court should consider. So [the motion] will be denied.”

At the close of the state’s case, defendant made a motion for a continuance. This motion was based upon the fact that defendant learned after the trial began that the victim had undergone a psychological examination nine months prior to trial. Defendant requested a continuance so that the physician who conducted this examination could be subpoenaed to testify. The trial judge denied the motion as untimely, noting also that the proper procedure would have [64]*64been for defendant to have petitioned the court for discovery of the CSD files earlier in the case.

Defendant was convicted and he appealed, citing as error the denial of the two motions. The Court of Appeals affirmed. 80 Or App 277, 720 P2d 1350 (1986).

We allowed review to decide three issues: First whether a trial court is authorized to compel a witness to undergo a pretrial psychological examination when competency is challenged by an adverse party. Second, whether the District Attorney is obligated to provide CSD files to the defendant as part of pretrial discovery. Third, whether the trial judge erred in denying defendant a continuance to call a witness. We conclude that we are unable to reach the second issue because of the procedural background of this case.

I. PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION

Defendant and amici assert that a trial judge has the inherent power to order a psychological examination of the complaining witness in a criminal case. In addition to citing other state and federal cases,2 they rely on State v. Clasey, 252 Or 22, 446 P2d 116 (1968), and State v. Walgraeve, 243 Or 328, 412 P2d 23, 412 P2d 609 (1966), for the proposition that the trial judge should have ordered a pretrial psychiatric examination of the victim of the sexual abuse.

In Clasey, this court wrote: “The authorities do not justify a mandatory rule [requiring pretrial examination of alleged victims of sex offenses]. It was the intent of State v. Walgraeve to refuse a mandatory rule. Walgraeve was not intended to deprive the court of the authority to order the examination.” Clasey, 252 Or at 23-24. This last sentence in Clasey was incorrect. In Walgraeve, this court upheld the denial of a defense motion to order a rape victim to undergo a psychiatric examination. The court adopted the reasoning of the California District Court of Appeals that the use of expert opinion on the credibility of a witness based on that expert’s out-of-court interview was “a fundamental change in policy [65]*65[that] should come from the Legislature.” 243 Or at 331, quoting Ballard v. Superior Court, 44 Cal Rptr 291, 294 (1965).3

The Walgraeve court, in refusing to impose a mandatory rule for pretrial psychiatric examination of witnesses, was concerned with the broader issue of the long-term results of allowing such experts to make credibility decisions. The court instead chose to leave such decision to the legislature “which has the investigative machinery to fully evaluate the proposal, specify its limits and its mode of operation.” 243 Or at 331, quoting Ballard v. Superior Court, supra, 44 Cal Rptr at 294. Walgraeve did not speak to competency decisions. The request was for an examination as to the victim’s “character.” Clasey misstated the Walgraeve opinion; any language suggesting a discretionary power to order a witness to undergo a psychiatric examination for competency, credibility or otherwise should be disregarded.

In cases subsequent to both Walgraeve and Clasey, this court has noted that trial courts are generally impotent to order witnesses to engage in specific conduct outside the courtroom absent legislative authorization. In State ex rel Roach v. Roth, 293 Or 636, 652 P2d 779 (1982), this court upheld the denial of the defendant’s motion for a pretrial order to command CSD to allow defendant to interview the victim in a sexual abuse case.

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

Related

State v. Romero
81 P.3d 714 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2003)
State v. Sanchez-Cruz
33 P.3d 1037 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2001)
State v. Gabrielson
464 N.W.2d 434 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1990)
Boise Cascade Corp. v. Katzenbach
802 P.2d 709 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1990)
Lawrence v. State
1990 OK CR 56 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1990)
State v. Cox
742 P.2d 694 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1987)
State Ex Rel. Upham v. Bonebrake
736 P.2d 1020 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1987)
State v. Hiatt
733 P.2d 1373 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
733 P.2d 1373, 303 Or. 60, 1987 Ore. LEXIS 1189, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hiatt-or-1987.