Crews v. Director, Patuxent Institution

• Decision Date: 11 January 1967
• Docket Number: No. 137,137
• Citation: 245 Md. 174,225 A.2d 436
• Parties: Isaac Lee CREWS v. DIRECTOR, PATUXENT INSTITUTION. Defective Delinquent
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

Page 174

245 Md. 174

225 A.2d 436

Isaac Lee CREWS v. DIRECTOR, PATUXENT INSTITUTION.

Defective Delinquent No. 137.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

Jan. 11, 1967.

Before HAMMOND, C. J., and HORNEY, OPPENHEIMER, BARNES and McWILLIAMS, JJ.

BARNES, Judge.

The applicant, Isaac Lee Crews, was convicted in 1963 of obtaining money by false pretenses and sentenced to serve six years in the House of Correction. (This sentence was later reduced to two years). Mr. Crews was transferred in October, 1963, to Patuxent Institution for diagnostic evaluation. The report of Patuxent, filed February 19, 1964, recommended Mr. Crews' commitment as a defective delinquent. On January 6, 1965, a jury found Mr. Crews to be a defective delinquent. Mr. Crews filed an application for leave to appeal and a petition to proceed in forma pauperis on January 20, 1965. He requested that counsel be appointed to assist him in the prosecution of that application.

Almost two years have elapsed since the filing of the application in a futile effort by the courts to appoint counsel acceptable to the applicant. ¹ We have been very liberal in postponing a determination of this application. But, for the proper administration of justice, we can postpone decision no longer. Mr. Crews has had ample opportunity to have counsel assist him in the prosecution of his application for leave to appeal. He has refused such assistance. We hold that he has waived whatever right of counsel may be given him by Code, Article 31B, sec. 11A, and proceed to the merits of the case.

(1)

Mr. Crews raises nine points in his application filed in proper person. The first five of these contentions may be treated together and summarized as follows:

1. His examination at Patuxent Institution was made by two institutional employees, Giovanni Croce and Louis M. Florenzo neither of whom were licensed in Maryland as a psychologist or psychiatrist.

2. Because of the alleged lack of qualifications of these two employees, the resulting diagnosis and report classifying him as a defective delinquent is invalid and should not have been admitted into evidence at trial.

3. The applicant was deprived of his liberty because of fraud, false representations, false pretenses and deceit of the two employees mentioned.

The short answer to these contentions is that they were not made below, and therefore, cannot be considered on this application for leave to appeal. Herrman v. Director, 229 Md. 613, 182 A.2d 351 (1962); McDonough v. Director, 229 Md. 626, 183 A.2d 368 (1962); Elliott v. Director, 232 Md. 615, 192 A.2d 501 (1963). Contrary to the applicant's allegations, moreover, the report is not signed by Giovanni Croce. It is signed by 'Joe R. Cantrell, M.D. Staff Psychiatrist'; 'Louis M. Florenzo, Psychologist'; and 'Domingo C. Sorongen, M.D.'; as well as Dr. Harold M. Boslow, Director of Patuxent Institution. The record discloses no objection to the qualifications of these men and no evidence whatsoever to impugn their professional competence. ² Nor is there a shred of evidence that any of them or Dr. Croce acted fraudulently, falsely or deceitfully.

(2)

In his sixth contention, the applicant claims that the Circuit Court erred in permitting Dr. Croce, the Associate Director of Patuxent and the chief of its Psychiatric Department, to testify as an expert witness concerning the applicant's mental condition. The basis of the applicant's objection is that Dr. Croce was not licensed to practice medicine in the State of Maryland. We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the opinion testimony of Dr. Croce.

The common law does not require that an expert witness on a medical subject shall be a person licensed to practice medicine. Wilson v. State, 243 Ala. 1, 8 So.2d 422 (1942); 2 Wigmore, Evidence, sec. 569 and cases cited therein. In Maryland this requirement has not been introduced by statute in respect to defective delinquent proceedings.

We believe the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit aptly stated the proper view concerning the competency of medical experts in Jenkins v. United States, 113 U.S.App.D.C. 300, 307, 307 F.2d 637, 644 (1962):

'The kinds of witnesses whose opinions courts have received, even though they lacked medical training and would not be permitted by law to treat the conditions they described, are legion. The principle to be distilled from the cases is plain: if experience or training enables a proffered expert witness to form an opinion which would aid the jury, in the absence of some countervailing consideration, his testimony will be received.'

Our predecessors agreed with this principle when they defined 'medical experts' merely as 'persons possessing technical and peculiar knowledge in relation to matters with which the mass of mankind are supposed not to be acquainted.' Ager v. Baltimore Transit Co., 213 Md. 414, 420, 132 A.2d 469, 472 (1957).

The crucial factors in determining the admissibility of any expert testimony is the actual experience of the witness and the probable probative value of his opinion. Provided the witness' other professional experience qualifies him as an expert in the field of mental science and disease, he is competent to render an opinion on that subject in our courts, even though he is not licensed to practice medicine in Maryland.

The applicant does not question the scientific competence of Dr. Croce, and indeed, it is impeccable. ³ It was within the unabused discretion of the trial judge to permit him to testify. Cf. State v. Tull, 240 Md. 49, 212 A.2d 729 (1965); Carbone v. Warburton, 11 N.J. 418, 94 A.2d 680 (Brennan, J., 1953).

(3)

The applicant's seventh contention is that the trial court erred in instructing the jury that the applicant had the burden of proving he was not a defective delinquent and not that the State had this burden. The allegation, if true, would plainly be grounds for reversal. But the allegation is false. The record shows that Judge Dyer gave the correct instruction:

'The burden is upon the plaintiff, in this case the State of Maryland, to establish by a fair preponderance of the evidence, which is the same weight of evidence as required in other civil cases; and not proof beyond a reasonable doubt, as required in criminal cases; that the defendant is a defective delinquent. If the proof fails to establish any essential element of the plaintiff's case by a preponderance of the evidence, then you should find for the defendant.' (Emphasis supplied).

See Purks v. State, 226 Md. 43, 171 A.2d 726 (1961).

(4)

The applicant's eighth contention alleges bias on the part of the trial judge in sustaining all objections made by the State and otherwise indicating that he believed the defendant to be a defective delinquent. This allegation amounts only to a general conclusion which is insufficient to comply with Maryland Rule 894 a 2a. Faulkner v. Director, 230 Md. 632, 187 A.2d 473 (1963). It is evident from our review of the entire testimony, however, that the applicant is referring to the opening charge of the trial court. It was there implied that the crimes of false pretenses, for which the applicant was convicted could constitute 'anti-social behavior' amounting to a 'danger to society' under Article 31B, sec. 5. ⁴ The applicant's attorney properly reserved an objection to this charge on the grounds that it prejudiced the jury against the applicant. We do not believe that the applicant was materially prejudiced by this remark. The trial court did not say that the crimes did constitute 'anti-social behavior.' or that the applicant's behavior, in fact, demonstrated 'an actual danger to society.' Our review of the record in this case does not show that this statement in any way prejudiced the jury against the applicant so as to deprive him of...