In re Care and Treatment of Spencer

Decision Date23 December 2003
Docket NumberNo. SC 85491.,SC 85491.
CitationIn re Care and Treatment of Spencer, 123 S.W.3d 166 (Mo. 2003)
PartiesIn the Matter of the CARE AND TREATMENT OF Nelvin SPENCER, Appellant.
CourtMissouri Supreme Court

Emmett D. Queener, Public Defender, Columbia, for Appellant.

Jeremiah W.(Jay) Nixon, Atty. Gen., Steven C. Reed, Asst. Atty. Gen., Andrea K. Spillars, Asst. Atty. Gen., James R. Layton, State Solicitor, Jefferson City, for Respondent.

RONNIE L. WHITE, Chief Justice.

I.

The State of Missouri petitioned the probate division of the circuit court seeking to confine Mr. Spencer as a sexually violent predator (SVP), and following a jury trial he was committed to the Department of Mental Health(DMH) for control, care, and treatment as a SVP.1Mr. Spencer appealed, and the Court of Appeals, Southern District, transferred the case to this Court pursuant to article V, section 11.

II.

Mr. Spencer's first claim of error is that the trial court abused its discretion when overruling his objection to prevent the State from cross-examining Dr. John Rabun, the psychiatrist testifying on his behalf, with regard to the United States Supreme Court opinion in Kansas v. Crane.2Mr. Spencer contends that the State attempted to impeach the testimony of Dr. Rabun by informing the jury that the Supreme Court had rejected his professional opinion that a diagnosis of pedophilia was not a mental abnormality as defined by the law.Mr. Spencer contends that this was a factual question of medical opinion for the jury to decide and that the State invaded the province of the jury by presenting it as an issue of law already determined by the Court.

The State argues that this line of questioning was appropriate because Dr. Rabun testified that as a board certified forensic psychiatrist he must stay abreast of current changes in the law.Dr. Rabun testified that recent decisions by the United States and Missouri Supreme Courts, including the case of Kansas v. Crane, had resulted in his conclusion that pedophilia no longer qualified as a mental abnormality under Missouri law.

"It is well established that the extent and scope of cross-examination in a civil action is within the discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed unless an abuse of discretion is clearly shown."3"An abuse of discretion occurs when a trial court's ruling is clearly against the logic of the circumstances then before the court and is so unreasonable and arbitrary that it shocks the sense of justice and indicates a lack of careful, deliberate consideration.If reasonable persons can differ as to the propriety of the trial court's action, then it cannot be said that the trial court abused its discretion."4Because Dr. Rabun testified that higher courtcases, including Kansas v. Crane, helped to form the basis for his professional opinion, the trial court did not abuse its discretion when allowing the prosecutor to cross-examine Dr. Rabun regarding those cases.

III.

Mr. Spencer also claims the court erred by allowing the trial to proceed to judgment utilizing the revised definition the word "predatory."5When the State filed its petition against Mr. Spencer, the original definition of the word "predatory" was in effect, and Mr. Spencer contends that section 1.150 requires the application of the law at the time in which the civil action was initiated.At that time, "predatory" was defined as acts "directed towards strangers or individuals with whom relationships have been established or promoted for the primary purpose of victimization."6After Mr. Spencer's preliminary hearing, the statute was amended, changing the definition of "predatory" to "acts directed towards individuals, including family members, for the primary purpose of victimization."7Mr. Spencer maintains that the jury should have been instructed utilizing the prior definition of "predatory" and that he lost a substantial portion of his defense because he was prepared to present evidence that his behavior was not predatory as originally defined.

The State argues that section 1.150 was intended to preserve substantive rights vested prior to the repeal of a statute under which the rights were acquired and that it does not apply to remedies or procedures.8The State contends that the prior definition of "predatory" conveyed no substantive rights to Mr. Spencer and that the revised law merely clarified the existing procedure for determining what qualifies as predatory.The State also claims that the jury's decision rests on a determination that the person has a mental abnormality that makes him more likely to commit future predatory acts of sexual violence.Consequently, according to the State, any evidence Mr. Spencer could have offered to prove that his past behavior was not predatory, under the prior definition, would be irrelevant to that determination.

The State is correct in that the jury's determination rests on whether the person having the mental abnormality is more likely to commit future acts of predatory sexual violence.Consequently, whether Mr. Spencer's past behavior fit the prior or revised definition of "predatory" is irrelevant.9Sufficient evidence was adduced at trial to allow the jury to make a determination as to whether Mr. Spencer was more likely than not to commit future acts of sexual violence, and the court did not err when utilizing the revised definition of "predatory" during Mr. Spencer's commitment proceeding.

IV.

Mr. Spencer also claims an equal protection violation when the probate court disallowed consideration of less restrictive alternatives to the "secure confinement" of those adjudicated as SVPs.10This Court has decided this identical issue in the case of In the...

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16 cases
  • State ex rel. Nothum v. Walsh
    • United States
    • Missouri Supreme Court
    • July 31, 2012
    ... ... In re Spencer, 123 S.W.3d 166, 167 (Mo. banc 2003). Even if the slim majority in this case is correct in its ... ...
  • In re Care and Treatment of Norton
    • United States
    • Missouri Supreme Court
    • December 23, 2003
    ... ...         If confinement were merely additional punishment for the horrible crimes for which Michael G. Norton and Nelvin Spencer (the appellant in In the Matter of the Care and Treatment of Nelvin Spencer, SC85491, 123 S.W.3d 166 decided with this case) already have been punished, further confinement would violate the Double Jeopardy and Ex Post Facto clauses of the United States Constitution ...         But, ... ...
  • Mitchell v. Kardesch
    • United States
    • Missouri Supreme Court
    • June 15, 2010
    ... ... 313 S.W.3d 670 Kardesch deviated from the standard of care (1) in not appropriately evaluating, diagnosing and treating her husband, Ruben Mitchell, or ing him for treatment and (2) in not acting within the standard of care upon recording abnormalities in Mr. Mitchell's ... See In re Care and Treatment of Spencer, 123 S.W.3d 166, 168 (Mo. banc 2003). It "is error for the court to declare as a matter of law a ... ...
  • Decker v. Bowersox
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Missouri
    • July 15, 2014
    ... ... In re Care and Treatment of Spencer , 123 S.W.3d 166, 168 (Mo. banc 2003). The state post-conviction motion ... ...
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2 books & journal articles
  • Section 16.65 Other Missouri Cases
    • United States
    • The Missouri Bar Estate Administration Deskbook Chapter 16 Civil Commitment Under the Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Sexually Violent Predator Laws
    • Invalid date
    ...· Boone, 147 S.W.3d 801 Courts have allowed experts to rely on evidence other than their personal observations. See: · In re Spencer, 123 S.W.3d 166 (Mo. banc 2003) (the reliance by experts on United States Supreme Court caselaw concerning whether pedophilia was a mental abnormality was not......
  • Section 65 Other Missouri Cases
    • United States
    • The Missouri Bar Civil Commitments Guidebook Chapter 10 Sexually Violent Predators
    • Invalid date
    ...Boone, 147 S.W.3d 801Courts have allowed experts to rely on evidence other than their personal observations. See:· 10 In re Spencer, 123 S.W.3d 166 (Mo. banc 2003) (the reliance by experts on United States Supreme Court caselaw concerning whether pedophilia was a mental abnormality was not ......