U.S. v. Dimberio, 56 M.J. 20

Military Justice Personnel: Defense Function: Experts, Investigators -- Appointment to Defense Team

1. the Equal Protection Clause, Due Process Clause, and the Manual for Courts-Martial each provide that the servicemember- accused is entitled to expert assistance when necessary for an adequate defense

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Evidence: Balancing

1. even though evidence may be logically relevant under Mil.R.Evid. 401, it may be excluded under Mil.R.Evid. 403 as not legally relevant if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the members, or by considerations of undue delay
2. rules such as Mil.R.Evid. 403 and 404(a) that exclude evidence from criminal trials do not abridge an accused’s constitutional right to present a defense so long as they are not arbitrary or disproportionate to the purposes they are designed to serve and do not infringe upon a weighty constitutional interest of the accused
3. in the absence of character evidence that appellant’s wife’s mental health problems were tied to violent acts, the introduction of a mental health diagnosis that she did not handle stress well was both speculative and potentially confusing to the members; nor was appellant’s proffer with respect to this evidence precise in describing limitations to the potential expert testimony; the evidence was thus inadmissible under Mil.R.Evid. 403

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Evidence: Character

1. circumstantial use of character evidence is impermissible except for three exceptions: (1) an accused may introduce pertinent evidence of good character, in which event the prosecution may rebut with evidence of bad character; (2) an accused may introduce pertinent evidence of the character of the victim, and the prosecution may introduce similar evidence in rebuttal of the character evidence; and (3) the character of a witness may be gone into as bearing on his credibility
2. whenever evidence of character or a trait of character of a person is admissible, proof may be made by testimony in the form of an opinion (Mil.R.Evid. 405(a)); in this case, the Court assumes that the definition of character evidence is broad and includes psychiatric diagnosis or personality disorders
3. although expert opinion evidence of a psychiatric diagnosis or personality disorder does not fit within the exceptions noted in Mil.R.Evid. 404(a), the accused nonetheless has a constitutional right to introduce the evidence if it is otherwise legally and logically relevant under Mil.R.Evid. 401-403
4. rules such as Mil.R.Evid. 403 and 404(a) that exclude evidence from criminal trials do not abridge an accused’s constitutional right to present a defense so long as they are not arbitrary or disproportionate to the purposes they are designed to serve and do not infringe upon a weighty constitutional interest of the accused

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Evidence: Expert / Scientific Testimony

1. defense proffer showed that although expert had not known a given individual long enough to form a traditional opinion as to her character and had not heard about her reputation in the community, the expert could express an expert opinion about the individual’s mental condition based upon his examination of the individual
2. under Mil.R.Evid 401-405 and the 700 series rules, expert testimony pertaining to a mental disorder may very well be relevant if the defense establishes that individuals with certain diagnoses confronted with certain situations may respond in a similar consistent way, but such evidence raises more complex inferential problems that require a sufficient basis in the first place
3. (an adequate proffer as to expert testimony includes: (1) qualifications of the expert; (2) the subject matter of the expert testimony; (3) the basis for the expert testimony; (4) legal relevance of the evidence; (5) reliability of the evidence; and (6) probative value of the testimony
4. appellant’s proffer concerning expert testimony about his wife’s mental health problems was inadequate because, assuming the expert’s qualifications, it lacked evidence that the alleged mental health problems had a nexus or link to behavioral traits of acting out or violence; the evidence was not legally relevant absent the expert showing that these traits manifest themselves under certain situations
5. an expert offering testimony on mental health problems, like those offering other scientific theories, would have to show that the traits do exist in an individual and that those character traits do react similarly in certain situations under the criteria for admissibility of scientific evidence established by Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993)
6. in the absence of character evidence that appellant’s wife’s mental health problems were tied to violent acts, the introduction of a mental health diagnosis that she did not handle stress well was both speculative and potentially confusing to the members; nor was appellant’s proffer with respect to this evidence precise in describing limitations to the potential expert testimony; the evidence was thus inadmissible under Mil.R.Evid. 403

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Evidence: Opinion Testimony

1. defense proffer showed that although expert had not known a given individual long enough to form a traditional opinion as to her character and had not heard about her reputation in the community, the expert could express an expert opinion about the individual’s mental condition based upon his examination of the individual

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Evidence: Proffers

1. in order for evidence to be admissible, appellant has the burden of making an adequate proffer or presentation of the evidence in which the substance of the evidence is made known or is apparent from the context (Mil.R.Evid. 103); this can be done through stipulation, direct examination, or proffer which encompasses the foundational requirements
2. if a party makes a proffer of evidence that is partly admissible and partly inadmissible without limiting or singling out solely the admissible part, the evidence shall be held inadmissible and the party cannot complain on appeal if the court excludes the entire offer
3. (an adequate proffer as to expert testimony includes: (1) qualifications of the expert; (2) the subject matter of the expert testimony; (3) the basis for the expert testimony; (4) legal relevance of the evidence; (5) reliability of the evidence; and (6) probative value of the testimony

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Evidence: Relevance

1. the Constitution does not confer upon an accused the right to present any and all types of evidence at trial, but only that evidence which is legally and logically relevant

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Evidence: Scientific Evidence

1. although expert opinion evidence of a psychiatric diagnosis or personality disorder does not fit within the exceptions noted in Mil.R.Evid. 404(a), the accused nonetheless has a constitutional right to introduce the evidence if it is otherwise legally and logically relevant under Mil.R.Evid. 401-403
2. an expert offering testimony on mental health problems, like those offering other scientific theories, would have to show that the traits do exist in an individual and that those character traits do react similarly in certain situations under the criteria for admissibility of scientific evidence established by Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993)

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Witnesses: Experts

1. defense proffer showed that although expert had not known a given individual long enough to form a traditional opinion as to her character and had not heard about her reputation in the community, the expert could express an expert opinion about the individual’s mental condition based upon his examination of the individual
2. under Mil.R.Evid 401-405 and the 700 series rules, expert testimony pertaining to a mental disorder may very well be relevant if the defense establishes that individuals with certain diagnoses confronted with certain situations may respond in a similar consistent way, but such evidence raises more complex inferential problems that require a sufficient basis in the first place
3. (an adequate proffer as to expert testimony includes: (1) qualifications of the expert; (2) the subject matter of the expert testimony; (3) the basis for the expert testimony; (4) legal relevance of the evidence; (5) reliability of the evidence; and (6) probative value of the testimony
4. appellant’s proffer concerning expert testimony about his wife’s mental health problems was inadequate because, assuming the expert’s qualifications, it lacked evidence that the alleged mental health problems had a nexus or link to behavioral traits of acting out or violence; the evidence was not legally relevant absent the expert showing that these traits manifest themselves under certain situations
5. an expert offering testimony on mental health problems, like those offering other scientific theories, would have to show that the traits do exist in an individual and that those character traits do react similarly in certain situations under the criteria for admissibility of scientific evidence established by Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993)
6. in the absence of character evidence that appellant’s wife’s mental health problems were tied to violent acts, the introduction of a mental health diagnosis that she did not handle stress well was both speculative and potentially confusing to the members; nor was appellant’s proffer with respect to this evidence precise in describing limitations to the potential expert testimony; the evidence was thus inadmissible under Mil.R.Evid. 403