Oregon Appellate Ct - Nov. 18, 2015

by: Abassos and Cmaloney • November 18, 2015 • no comments

Mental Health Evidence - An Expert's Testimony About a Mental Health Diagnosis is Relevant If It Explains Behavior At Issue In The Trial

Expert testimony regarding a mental health diagnosis is relevant if it helps a jury to understand the defendant's behavior. Here, defendant was charged with first-degree sexual abuse, based partly on a confession. Defendant offered expert testimony from a psychologist to support his contention that his admissions to touching the victim were a product of his adjustment disorder and misunderstood as confessions of abuse. The trial court excluded the mental health testimony on the grounds that defendant failed to establish a nexus between the expert’s diagnosis and his defense. The Court of Appeals finds that it was error to exclude the diagnosis. The expert’s testimony connected defendant’s diagnosis of an adjustment disorder to defendant’s behavior that was at issue. That testimony, if believed, would have helped the jury to assess defendant’s explanation for his confessions. Reversed and remanded. State v. Jesse, 275 Or App 1 (2015).