State v. Thomas

• Decision Date: 18 October 2004
• Docket Number: No. 52174-8-I.,52174-8-I.
• Citation: 98 P.3d 1258,123 Wash. App. 771,123 Wn. App. 771
• Court: Washington Court of Appeals
• Parties: STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Sara THOMAS, Appellant.

98 P.3d 1258

123 Wn. App. 771

123 Wash. App. 771

STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Sara THOMAS, Appellant.

No. 52174-8-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

October 18, 2004.

Gregory Link, Sea., WA., for Appellant.

David Gross, Sea., WA., for Respondent.

SCHINDLER, J.

To be admissible, an expert's opinion on diminished capacity must be helpful to the trier of fact in assessing the defendant's mental state at the time of the crime. An expert does not have to testify with reasonable medical certainty that the mental disorder actually caused diminished capacity at the time of the crime, but the expert must be able to testify based on reasonable medical certainty that the defendant suffers from a mental disorder that impairs the defendant's ability to form the requisite intent to commit the crime. In this case, the expert witness would testify that it was possible that Sara Thomas was in a blackout at the time of the crime but could not testify with reasonable medical certainty that Thomas suffers from a mental disorder which impaired her ability to form the intent required to commit assault in the first degree. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding Thomas's expert testimony on diminished capacity. We affirm.

FACTS

Sara Thomas has been drinking heavily and living on the streets on and off for the past 25 years. In the morning of September 25, 2002, Thomas began drinking beer at the Dome Stadium Tavern in downtown Seattle. She continued drinking with her boyfriend at various other places in the downtown Seattle area. In the evening, Thomas and her boyfriend returned to the Dome Stadium Tavern.

Samuel Soto, an acquaintance of Thomas's, and Jeanne Hughes were also drinking at the Dome Stadium tavern that evening. According to the bartender, Thomas, her boyfriend, Soto, and Hughes all had a lot to drink. Shortly before the bar closed, Soto poured Thomas a glass of beer from his pitcher. A few minutes later, Thomas returned with her boyfriend's glass and started to fill it from Soto's pitcher. Soto stopped her and told her he would not give any beer to her boyfriend. Thomas became angry, called him a "culero,"¹ and left the tavern.

Hughes and Soto planned to go to another bar together. Hughes waited outside for Soto outside after the tavern closed. Thomas also waited outside and was facing the tavern entrance with her arms crossed. A knife was partially concealed in Thomas's hand. When Soto walked outside, he approached Thomas to talk to her. Before he could say anything, Thomas stepped towards Soto, stabbed him once in the chest, and ran away. Hughes witnessed the stabbing and rushed to help Soto. She asked a passerby to call 911. When the police arrived two to three minutes later, Hughes identified Sara Thomas as the person who stabbed Soto. Soto was taken to Harborview Medical Center and had emergency surgery.

The next day, a police detective interviewed Soto at the hospital. Soto said "Sara" stabbed him and identified Thomas from a photomontage.²

Two days after the stabbing, a police officer arrested Thomas at Victor Steinbrueck Park near Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. Thomas initially gave the officer a false name. Later in the conversation, Thomas gave her real name and admitted she knew Soto. Thomas told the officer that she had no recollection of stabbing Soto at the tavern.

Thomas was charged with first degree assault with a deadly weapon. After she was charged, Thomas was admitted to Western State Hospital (Western State) for a 30-day observation and psychiatric evaluation. The court asked Western State to evaluate Thomas and provide an opinion concerning Thomas's sanity at the time of the offense and her capacity to form the intent required to commit first degree assault. In the report from Western State, Dr. R.M. Hart concluded Thomas did not suffer from a mental disorder that prevented her from understanding the nature and quality of her acts. There was "not enough factual information to support a forensic opinion concerning her capacity to form requisite mental state."³ In his report, Dr. Hart also stated that there was a "high probability" Thomas was intoxicated on the night of the incident and that Thomas could present a defense of voluntary intoxication to the assault charge.⁴ After treatment with antidepressants, Thomas was returned from Western State for trial.

At the request of Thomas's lawyer, Dr. Robin LaDue conducted a psychological evaluation of Thomas. Dr. LaDue interviewed Thomas and administered several cognitive skills tests. Dr. LaDue prepared a report based on her psychiatric evaluation of Thomas.

At trial Thomas presented two alternative theories: either she was not the person who stabbed Soto, or if she stabbed Soto she did not remember doing so because of her diminished capacity. Thomas challenged Soto's and Hughes' recollection as unreliable because of the amount of alcohol they consumed. Thomas testified that she remembered seeing Soto at the tavern on the evening of the stabbing and talking to him about his girlfriend who had moved away but denied having an argument with him. Thomas said she did not remember anything after her conversation with Soto until the next morning when she woke up at her uncle's house. Thomas sought to introduce the expert testimony of Dr. LaDue to establish her diminished capacity defense. Thomas relied on Dr. LaDue's report to make an offer of proof on Dr. LaDue's proposed testimony. Based on Thomas's offer of proof, the trial court did not allow Dr. LaDue to testify. Thomas requested and the court gave a jury instruction on voluntary intoxication.

The jury convicted Thomas of first degree assault while armed with a deadly weapon. Thomas appeals.

ANALYSIS

Thomas argues the trial court abused its discretion in excluding Dr. LaDue's testimony that it was possible Thomas's alcohol consumption resulted in a "blackout" and that Thomas may have had diminished capacity due to her voluntary intoxication. Thomas contends the exclusion of Dr. LaDue's testimony violated her constitutional right to present a defense.

Dr. LaDue described Thomas's reported history of alcohol use in her written report:

Ms. Thomas has a long history of alcohol abuse, dating back for at least 25 years. There are concerns that she might have been prenatally exposed to alcohol and other substances but she may have some organic damage from her long-term substance abuse. She describes a pattern of heavy alcohol consumption resulting in blackouts. She drinks until she is drunk on a regular basis.⁵

Based on Thomas's reported history and her psychological evaluation, Dr. LaDue concluded:

It is possible that she was in a black [sic] out at the time of the alleged incident....

In response to [defense counsel's] concern that Ms. Thomas may have diminished capacity due to her voluntary intoxication, this is a possibility. She drinks until highly intoxicated, reports a pattern of blackouts, and has limited insight or control over her behavior.⁶

Thomas sought to introduce Dr. LaDue's opinion from the report to support her diminished capacity defense. In the offer of proof, Thomas stated that LaDue would testify that "it is possible that [Thomas] was in a blackout at the time of the alleged incident."⁷ Thomas argued Dr. LaDue's conclusion was consistent with Dr. Hart's report that it was highly likely she was intoxicated on the night of the stabbing.⁸ Thomas also argued her "history of alcoholism" and "lack of any memory" of the incident corroborated Dr. LaDue's conclusion.⁹ Thomas contended the testimony of Dr. LaDue would assist the jury in evaluating whether Thomas had the ability to form the intent to commit first degree assault.¹⁰

The State moved to exclude Dr. LaDue's testimony as inadmissible because it was not helpful under ER 702:

The experts in this case can't even offer any guidance on how intoxicated she was or whether or not she was in fact intoxicated. They can simply say it's possible she was drinking to the level of a blackout; however, lack of memory of the events in question does not equal lack of capacity to form intent to commit assault.¹¹

The State also argued Dr. LaDue's testimony was not beyond the common experience and understanding of the average juror.

The trial court excluded Dr. LaDue's testimony. The court ruled that the jury would have to rely on the testimony of the other witnesses and "their own knowledge and experience" to determine whether Thomas had the capacity to form the intent necessary to commit first degree assault.¹² The trial court concluded Dr. LaDue's testimony "that things are possible" would not assist the jury.¹³

Thomas argues the trial court abused its discretion by excluding Dr. LaDue's testimony to support her diminished capacity defense. The admissibility of evidence rests within the sound discretion of the trial court and this court will not disturb the trial court's decision unless no reasonable person would adopt the trial court's view. State v. Atsbeha, 142 Wash.2d 904, 913-14, 16 P.3d 626 (2001). Defendants have the right to present a defense, but do not have the right to introduce evidence that is irrelevant or otherwise inadmissible. State v. Rehak, 67 Wash.App. 157, 162, 834 P.2d 651 (1992).

Admissibility of expert testimony is governed by ER 702. ER 702 requires that (1) the witness is qualified as an expert and (2) the testimony would be helpful to the trier of fact.¹⁴ State v. Farr-Lenzini, 93 Wash.App. 453, 461, 970 P.2d 313 (1999). Expert testimony is helpful if it concerns matters beyond the common knowledge of the average layperson and does not mislead the jury. Id.

To be admissible on the issue of diminished capacity, expert testimony must establish how the alleged mental condition impaired the defendant's ability to form the requisite level of intent. State v. Guilliot, 106 Wash.App. 355, 363, 22 P.3d 1266 (2001) (expert testimony inadmissible absent a link between...