State v. Lee
| Decision Date | 21 June 2022 |
| Docket Number | COA21-13 |
| Parties | STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, v. BRANDON JAMES LEE, Defendant |
| Court | North Carolina Court of Appeals |
An unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals does not constitute controlling legal authority. Citation is disfavored, but may be permitted in accordance with the provisions of Rule 30(e)(3) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.
Heard in the Court of Appeals 12 January 2022.
Appeal by Defendant from judgments entered 3 October 2019 by Judge A. Graham Shirley in Wake County Superior Court No. 15 CRS 227741-42
Attorney General Joshua H. Stein, by Assistant Attorney General Nicholas R. Sanders, for the State.
Jarvis John Edgerton, IV, for Defendant-Appellant.
¶ 1 Defendant Brandon James Lee ("Defendant") appeals from his convictions for first-degree murder. On appeal Defendant contends the trial court erred by prohibiting a defense expert witness from issuing an opinion under Rules 702 and 403 of the North Carolina Rules of Evidence and that the exclusion of the expert witness' testimony deprived Defendant of his right to present a defense under the United States Constitution. After careful review of the record and applicable law, we find no error.
¶ 2 In December 2015, Defendant was employed at Time Warner Cable and resided with his mother, Christa Lee ("mother"). While attending Time Warner Cable's employment training, Defendant met Krystal Hylton ("Hylton"). Shortly thereafter, Defendant and Hylton began a romantic relationship, which Defendant described as "an explosive love," but "rocky."
¶ 3 After Defendant and Hylton began their relationship, Hylton befriended another co-worker by the name of Derik Stephens ("Stephens"). Hylton confided in Stephens that Defendant was physically abusive, such that it would cause her to miss work. At times, Defendant was "belligerent, upset," and had previously "strangle[d] . . . and hit" Hylton. Hylton also told Stephens that Defendant "drank a lot, that he was just always angry." Hylton recounted to Stephens one specific instance, in which Defendant became enraged while Hylton was driving. Defendant shouted that he didn't "give a dam [sic] about [her], about [his] life, about [her] life" and that he "will kill both of [them] right now," grabbed the steering wheel, and caused the car to crash. Hylton shared this story with Stephens a few weeks before she was killed. After the incident, Hylton told Stephens that she wanted to terminate her relationship with Defendant and that she feared for her safety, believing the Defendant might "kill [her] at any moment."
¶ 4 On or around December 13, 2015, Defendant had an argument with his mother while at her apartment. Defendant testified that his mother began screaming at him and "cursing up a storm" and that she then grabbed a knife from the kitchen. In response, Defendant closed the door to his bedroom and waited until he did not hear his mother anymore. When Defendant came out of the room, his mother also came out of her room and resumed screaming at Defendant. According to Defendant, his mother told him to sit on the couch in the living room and began to tell him that she wanted him to get a bottle of pills and kill himself. His mother then handed him four Prozac pills, and he took two of them. Defendant left his mother's residence and obtained an alcoholic beverage and a pack of cigarettes.
¶ 5 Later, he returned to the residence, wherein his mother reportedly insulted him. In response to her insults, Defendant stated, and began choking his mother. According to Defendant, his mother did not fight back. Dr. Nabila Haikal, a State's witness, testified Defendant's mother died from strangulation. After his mother died, Defendant dragged her body from the living room to the bathroom and placed her body in the bathtub.
¶ 6 Approximately an hour later, Defendant left the residence, went to Harris Teeter, and purchased a bottle of wine and several bags of ice. Defendant returned to the residence and dumped the ice in the bathtub over his mother's body. Although Defendant testified that he planned to turn himself in, he did not report his mother's death that day. Instead, the following day, Defendant went to Time Warner Cable, his former employer, and approached Stephens. Stephens testified that he "immediately smelled alcohol" and noticed Defendant swaying. Stephens described how Defendant attempted to intimidate him and demanded that he stay away from Hylton. Later that day, Stephens received a threatening text message from Defendant warning him to stay away from Hylton. After learning of Defendant's visit to Time Warner Cable and confrontation with Stephens, Hylton told Stephens that she feared for her life. Stephens suggested to Hylton that to avoid interacting with Defendant she should not stay at her house and that she should either stay with him or with other friends. On the evening of December 18, 2015, Hylton went to Stephens' residence to watch movies, and subsequently, stayed overnight. The following day, Saturday, Hylton returned to her residence.
¶ 7 That same day, Defendant, believing that Hylton was romantically involved with Stephens, traveled to Hylton's residence "to catch her cheating on [him]." Defendant entered Hylton's residence by climbing through a cracked window. Hylton, who was alone in the apartment, became angry with Defendant and asked what he was doing there and why he broke her window screen. Defendant testified that he and Hylton began to argue and that he "snapped on her." Defendant brought her to the ground, placed two hands on her neck, and proceeded to choke her in the same way he had choked his mother. Defendant testified that he was "just full of just -- just hate her." Dr. Haikal testified Hylton died from this strangulation. Defendant used a marker to write the words "whore," "drug addict," and "cheater" on her abdomen after choking her. Later that day, Defendant sent text messages to Stephens from Hylton's phone, with the last text sent being, "This is all your fault." Stephens testified that at the time he received those messages he was unaware Hylton was dead. The next day, after staying at Hylton's apartment overnight, Defendant called 911 to report the two killings.
¶ 8 Defendant was indicted for two counts of first-degree murder on January 3, 2018. Defendant's trial began on September 23, 2019. At trial, Defendant called several witnesses and testified on his own behalf. According to Defense counsel, "Defendant's only defense was that he was acting under mental and emotional disturbances that negatively impacted his ability to act rationally and with intent." To carry forth this defense, Defense counsel called Dr. Moira Artigues ("Dr. Artigues") to testify as an expert in the fields of psychiatry and forensic psychiatry. Dr. Artigues testified that she had evaluated Defendant in order to ascertain his mental state and psychological condition at the time he committed the murders. Dr. Artigues examined Defendant in 2018 and 2019 and, based on the results of the examinations, diagnosed Defendant with several mental disorders, including severe alcohol use disorder and either Major Depressive Disorder or Alcohol Use Related Depression. Dr. Artigues also diagnosed Defendant as having disrupted effects of brain development. Dr. Artigues further testified Defendant suffered from these conditions in December of 2015, such that Defendant was acting under an emotional and mental disturbance that affected his ability to act rationally when he committed the crimes.
¶ 9 Thereafter, Defendant called Dr. Daniel Chartier ("Dr. Chartier") as an expert witness in psychology and quantitative electroencephalogram ("qEEG"). Dr. Chartier conducted a qEEG assessment of Defendant's brain function. On direct examination, Dr. Chartier first explained that EEG "is the appliance of multiple sensors on the scalp that are capable of picking up the electrical activity that the brain is generating" and mapping out what is happening in different regions of the brain. The qEEG specifically looks at how different parts of the brain are operating within a particular person. Therefore, qEEG combines traditional EEG and computer technology to analyze and save the brain's electrical activity results through digital storage on a computer disk. Dr. Chartier testified that qEEG is recognized as a legitimate and effective tool for psychologists in the use of evaluating patients and has been subjected to many peer-reviewed textbook articles and other publications. Dr. Chartier further testified that he utilizes qEEG in his private practice to provide objective understanding of various problems that people may be experiencing and noted that "virtually any identifiable abnormality of behavior [that] has a corresponding brain signature" that is identifiable by qEEG. Dr. Chartier further testified that in 2006 he began evaluating individuals with qEEG in civil and criminal court cases and has evaluated over 30 people in relation to criminal cases. Dr. Chartier also noted that he had personally testified about his findings of a defendant based on qEEG in "14 or 15 [criminal cases] in the last five, six years." Dr. Chartier stated that there are reliable methods and procedures for using qEEG, known as standards of practice.
¶ 10 In explaining the process of the qEEG evaluation, Dr Chartier reported that he first interviews the client to gather medical history of their symptoms and to identify problems. Next, he gathers qEEG data by applying sensors to the client's scalp and having them perform a series of tasks including opening their eyes, closing their eyes, silently reading for...
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