holding that sexual abuse includes medical, physical, and psychological components, the court held that the child’s statements were reasonably necessary for diagnosis and treatment trader 803(4)
How later courts described this case
- holding that sexual abuse includes medical, physical, and psychological components, the court held that the child’s statements were reasonably necessary for diagnosis and treatment trader 803(4)
- statements of nine-year-old to physician identifying source of victim’s sexual abuse was necessary for treatment and therefore admissible under Rule 803(4); victim testified at trial
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
Shepherd, J.
(concurring). I concur for the reason that the record clearly indicates that the victim testified, identified the defendant, and described in some detail the acts performed by the defendant. Therefore, the testimony of Dr. Scheurer was used to corroborate the victim’s testimony. I reserve judgment on the issue of whether a doctor’s testimony can be used to convict a defendant where the victim is unavailable and the doctor’s testimony is the only evidence linking the defendant to the crime. 1
This case demonstrates the unsatisfactory methods available for establishing guilt or innocence in parent-child incest cases. The child is frequently so traumatized by the events and by the adversary nature of trial procedure that evidence produced at trial is often of questionable reliability. The psychological damage done to a child by requiring in-court testimony can be permanently devastating. On the other hand, allowing a defendant to be convicted, in whole or in part, on the testimony of a doctor who has elicited the facts during the course of treatment also leaves much to be desired.
This problem was addressed in a significant way by the Journal of Law Reform of the University of *48 Michigan in Note, Parent-Child Incest: Proof at Trial Without Testimony in Court by the Victim, 15 Mich J L R 131 (1981). The note suggests that there are better ways to handle incest trials, including having the victim interviewed by a court-appointed expert under controlled, video-recorded conditions where the victim is unaware that the interview is being recorded. Defendant and his attorney would have the opportunity to suggest lines of inquiry to the expert; the interview would be played in court and the expert would be subjected to cross-examination. The note concludes that such a method would satisfy the constitutional requirements of due process and the right to confrontation of witnesses.
While I express no opinion on the advisability and constitutionality of such a procedure, the issue deserves further attention and the problem is respectfully addressed to the bench, the bar, and the Legislature for such action as is deemed appropriate.
See Goldade v Wyoming, 674 P2d 721 (Wy, 1983), for a case in which the doctor’s testimony was the only evidence linking a defendant mother to a child abuse case since the child was ruled incompetent to testify due to "shyness and awe”. There was a vigorous dissent which was based upon the opinion that the majority had overextended the rule of evidence and was too results-oriented.