State v. Lynch, No. 1999-327-C.A. (K1/96-591A) (RI 8/11/2004)
| Decision Date | 11 August 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 1999-327-C.A. (K1/96-591A),1999-327-C.A. (K1/96-591A) |
| Parties | State v. Raymond Lynch. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
Appeal from Superior Court, Kent County, Richard J. Israel.
Christopher R. Bush, Esq., for Plaintiff.
Mark Laroche, Esq., for Defendant.
Present: Williams, C.J., Flanders, Goldberg, Flaherty and Suttell, JJ.
The defendant, Raymond Lynch, appeals from Superior Court jury convictions of three counts of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault. The victim of all five assaults was his developmentally impaired daughter Mary.1 He alleges that the trial court committed thirteen distinct errors that warrant reversal of some or all the convictions, and that the trial justice abused his discretion by denying the defendant's motion for a new trial.
At the time of the precipitating incident, Mary was sixteen years old and resided in Warwick, Rhode Island, with her parents, her younger sister, and younger brother. On Friday, September 20, 1996, Mary invited a friend from school, Michelle, to sleep over at her house. The girls watched a movie together in Mary's bed, and then fell asleep.
Michelle testified at trial that she woke up to find defendant leaning over her and rubbing the upper part of the back of her thigh. She further testified that defendant told her, "[I]f you need a place to sleep, you can come sleep with me." Michelle immediately left the Lynch household and walked home. Michelle was described as "hysterical" when she arrived home. The police were called, and responded to her home with a rape crisis counselor.
On September 24, 1996, the next school day, Michelle met with Mary-Ellen Tillotson, a school psychologist. Michelle testified that she did so because she was concerned that defendant might be abusing Mary. Thereafter, Ms. Tillotson called Mary to her office. Ms. Tillotson testified that Mary initially said that she was not supposed to talk about what her father did to her when her mother was at work. Mary then said that defendant had sex with her "all the time" in the basement of their home. Ms. Tillotson immediately called the Warwick Police Department and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families and later drove Mary and Michelle to the police station.
The defendant was arrested that day. Several weeks later an indictment was filed charging him with three counts of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault against Mary, one count of second-degree sexual assault and one count of simple assault against her younger sister, and one count of simple assault against Michelle. A jury convicted him of the five counts involving Mary,2 after which defendant filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied on May 8, 1998. The trial justice sentenced defendant to sixty years, thirty to serve, on each of the first-degree sexual assault convictions, and ten years to serve on the two second-degree sexual assault convictions, all the sentences to run concurrently. Other facts will be supplied as needed to address the issues on appeal.
The defendant alleges that the trial justice abused his discretion in finding Mary competent to testify in light of her cognitive and communicative limitations, impairment of intellectual abilities, and the conflicting testimony at her competency hearing.
Rule 601 of the Rhode Island Rules of Evidence requires that a witness be competent to testify. The trial court must make four determinations in evaluating a witness's competency: the witness must be able to "observe, recollect, communicate, and appreciate the necessity of telling the truth." Seabra v. Trafford-Seabra, 655 A.2d 250, 252 (R.I. 1995) (citing State v. Cabral, 122 R.I. 623, 629, 410 A.2d 438, 442 (1980)). This Court will overturn a competency decision only for abuse of discretion. Id. (citing State v. Ranieri, 586 A.2d 1094, 1098-99 (R.I. 1991)). "The trial justice is afforded considerable deference in making a competency ruling since he is in the best position to assess the witness's present ability to comprehend the obligation of this oath, and to give a correct account of what he may have seen or heard." Id. (citing State v. Franklin, 103 R.I. 715, 724, 241 A.2d 219, 225 (1968)). In the case at hand, the trial justice conducted a voir dire of Mary, and was sufficiently satisfied that she had the ability to observe, recollect, and communicate, and that she appreciated the necessity of telling the truth. We agree.
Mary's testimony demonstrated her ability to observe. She testified that at the time of trial she lived with two housemates, and that they had their own rooms. She testified that she had a television in her room and a computer that didn't work because it was not connected. Additionally, she testified about the details concerning the multiple times that defendant sexually assaulted her.
Mary's testimony of the sexual assaults demonstrates that she had the ability to remember. The defendant notes, however, that Mary did not know what day her favorite television programs were on or whether she had any books in her room. It was recognized at the trial that Mary does have cognitive limitations. A sexual assault, however, is a traumatic event and thus may be more clearly memorable than other everyday normal occurrences. See State v. Girouard, 561 A.2d 882, 887 (R.I. 1989). It is reasonable to believe that even though Mary may not have a clear recollection of the exact times and places that the alleged multiple assaults took place, she is still cognizant of the fact that the assaults occurred.
Mary demonstrated an ability to communicate by relating facts of the sexual assaults, pointing to her body parts when asked, and identifying defendant in the courtroom. This level of communication meets the requirements for competency to testify before the court. See id. (). Although defendant noted that Mary could not adequately communicate whether she was going to graduate from high school that year, or what grade she currently was in, we conclude that her overall responses indicated her capacity to understand questions and to furnish intelligent answers.
The transcripts also evidence Mary's knowledge of the necessity of telling the truth.
"A child need not articulate magic words that he or she knows the difference between a lie and a truth as long as the child understands the definitions of both and was there to tell the truth." Girouard, 561 A.2d at 886 (citing In re Gerald, 471 A.2d 219, 220-21 (R.I. 1984)). We defer to the judgment of the trial justice, who upon hearing this exchange, was confident that Mary in fact did understand the difference between the truth and a lie.
After reviewing the four testimonial capacities required for a finding of competency, we conclude that the trial justice did not err in finding Mary competent to testify. Though she suffered from cognitive and communicative limitations, she met the standard of competency set forth by this Court. We also note our established rule that any doubt concerning minimum credibility of the witness should be resolved in favor of allowing the jury to hear the testimony and judge the credibility of the witness themselves. State v. Marr, 673 A.2d 452, 453 (R.I. 1996) (per curiam) (citing 1 McCormick On Evidence, § 62 at 91 (4th ed. Strong Prac. Treatise Series 1992)).
The defendant alleges that hearsay statements Mary made to Mary-Ellen Tillotson, a certified school psychologist, were improperly admitted in violation of Rule 803(4) of the Rhode Island Rules of Evidence because there was no evidence that Mary sought a medical (or mental health) diagnosis from Ms. Tillotson.
Ms. Tillotson testified that on September 24, 1996, an employee of the high school asked her to meet with Michelle. Based on her meeting with Michelle, she believed "that it was important to talk with Mary about her general well-being." Ms. Tillotson then asked Mary to come to her office with Michelle. As a result of her conversation with Mary, she called the Department of Children, Youth and Families and the Warwick police. A police officer responded to the high school and spoke to both Mary and Michelle. Ms. Tillotson made a written report and, at the request of the officer, drove both girls to the police station.
After much discussion with counsel outside the presence of the jury, the trial justice said that he would allow Ms. Tillotson to relate what Mary told her that afternoon. When the jury returned, Ms. Tillotson testified that Mary told her that:
Ms. Tillotson also testified that when she asked Mary how often this had happened, Mary "seemed to be confused about the times."
"Hearsay evidence is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at a trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted." State v. Angell, 122 R.I. 160, 167, 405 A.2d 10, 14 (1979). As a rule, hearsay statements are excluded from the evidence introduced at trial because the usual safeguards of the oath, confrontation, and cross-examination, are not available. Id....
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