State v. Jones
State v. Jones
Opinion
**634
Petitioner Roy Lee Jones appeals his convictions for first-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC) with a minor, second-degree CSC with a minor, and two counts of committing a lewd act on a minor. The issues Jones raises on appeal all concern the admission of testimony from an expert witness qualified in child sexual abuse dynamics. The court of appeals affirmed Jones's convictions.
State v. Jones
,
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Jones was charged with numerous offenses for the ongoing sexual abuse of his then-girlfriend's two daughters. Testifying at trial, the older daughter (Daughter 1) stated the abuse began sometime in 2003 as she was entering the tenth grade. While Jones's behavior was initially limited to sexual comments about her body, Daughter 1 stated it progressed to groping and eventually to sexual intercourse. In total, Daughter 1 estimated Jones sexually abused her over a hundred times until it came to a halt in 2009 when Jones was imprisoned for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
The younger daughter (Daughter 2) testified Jones began molesting her when she was around ten years old, also beginning as touching and groping before escalating into forced sexual intercourse. Daughter 2 claimed she told Mother about the abuse, but Mother did not take any steps to stop it. When called to testify, Mother admitted Daughter 2 told her about the abuse, but explained she did not immediately notify the authorities after learning of the allegations because she feared they would take her children from her.
The State then presented expert testimony from Shauna Galloway-Williams, who was qualified as an expert in child sexual abuse dynamics. Jones objected to the admission of *270 Galloway-Williams' testimony, arguing the basis for her opinions was not reliable and that the subject matter of her testimony was not beyond the ordinary knowledge of the jury. **635 After the State proffered Galloway-Williams' testimony, the trial judge concluded the subject matter of her testimony was not common knowledge and determined she established sufficient reliability for her testimony. Thus qualified, Galloway-Williams testified generally about delayed disclosure in sexual abuse cases and the response of nonoffending caregivers. Galloway-Williams did not reference the victims in this case, and after being questioned on cross-examination, stated she had never met with any of the other witnesses, including the victims and Mother.
Testifying in his own defense, Jones denied ever sexually abusing the victims and claimed the charges were brought against him in retaliation after he caught Daughter 1 stealing money from him. Jones was found guilty of first-degree CSC with a minor, second-degree CSC with a minor, and two counts of lewd act upon a child, and was sentenced to life without parole for first- and second-degree CSC and fifteen years' imprisonment for each count of lewd act. After his convictions were affirmed by the court of appeals, Jones petitioned this Court for certiorari.
ISSUES
I. Did the court of appeals err by holding the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it qualified Galloway-Williams as an expert in child sex abuse dynamics when the subject matter of her testimony was well within the realm of lay knowledge, was highly prejudicial to Jones, and improperly bolstered the complainants' credibility?
II. Did the court of appeals err by holding the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it qualified Galloway-Williams as an expert in child sex abuse dynamics where there was insufficient evidence of the reliability of her testimony and whether those matters had ever been subjected to peer review?
DISCUSSION
I. SUBJECT MATTER OF EXPERT TESTIMONY
Jones argues the trial judge erred in qualifying Galloway-Williams as an expert because the subject matter of her **636 testimony was not beyond the ordinary knowledge of the jury. According to Jones, there is no field of study regarding "child sex abuse dynamics," and the State used that term to mask her actual role as a forensic interviewer.
The admissibility of an expert's testimony is a matter within the trial court's sound discretion and the determination will not be reversed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion.
State v. Cope
,
Though she was admitted generally as an expert in child sex abuse dynamics, Galloway-Williams' testimony concerned two distinct concepts: delayed disclosure by sexual abuse victims and the behavior of nonoffending
*271
caregivers. As to the first area, the law in South Carolina is settled: behavioral characteristics of sex abuse victims is an area of specialized knowledge where expert testimony may be utilized.
See
State v. Anderson
,
Although we find ample support for the trial judge's determination that the subject matter of Galloway-Williams' testimony was beyond the ken of lay knowledge, we wish to reiterate the proper test for this determination. In affirming the trial judge, the court of appeals took into consideration whether the jurors' responses during
voir dire
indicated any prior knowledge or experience with sexual abuse. As support for this holding, the court of appeals cited to
State v. Brown
,
II. RELIABILITY OF TESTIMONY
Next, Jones argues it was error to admit Galloway-Williams' testimony because there *272 was no evidence demonstrating her opinions were accurate or reliable. Specifically, Jones alleges Galloway-Williams failed to identify or name any studies supporting her opinions, nor did she state whether any of the literature she relied on had been peer reviewed. With no evidence to demonstrate her reliability, Jones argues the trial judge failed to act as a gatekeeper. We disagree.
In assessing the admissibility of expert testimony, the trial court must make a threshold determination of reliability.
State v. White
,
In
Chavis
, the trial court qualified the same forensic interviewer who evaluated the victim as an expert in the field of child abuse assessment. On appeal, the Court found the qualification was error because, although the forensic interviewer had extensive experience and training using the RATAC protocol, there was insufficient evidence demonstrating her individual reliability. The Court explained, "[T]here is simply no evidence that her conclusions or impressions taken from these interviews were accurate."
Unlike the proposed expert in Chavis , Galloway-Williams did not testify about forensic interviewing methods nor the use of the RATAC protocol. Instead, her testimony focused on explaining the concept of delayed disclosure and the role of nonoffending caregivers in the dynamics of sexual abuse. Although Galloway-Williams did not identify by name the articles serving as the basis for her opinions, she indicated she could provide citations if given an opportunity to gather them. Additionally, she explained her opinions were supported by peer-reviewed professional journals and trade publications, all of which were uniformly accepted and recognized by child sexual abuse experts and professionals. Galloway-Williams also testified she participates in the peer review process and has given numerous presentations on the subject. When questioned on cross, she testified she was unaware of any organizations that found her methods unreliable and that, out of all cases involving delayed disclosure of child abuse, statistically two to four percent are considered false allegations.
We find Jones's argument conflates reliability with perfection. There is always a possibility that an expert witness's **640 opinions are incorrect. However, whether to accept the expert's opinions or not is a matter for the jury to decide. Trial courts are tasked only with determining whether the basis for the expert's opinion is sufficiently reliable such that it be may offered into evidence. Here, Galloway-Williams met the threshold reliability requirement when she testified her methods were published in professional articles and trade publications, subject to peer review, and uniformly accepted and relied upon by other professionals in the field. Accordingly, we affirm the trial judge's finding.
CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, the court of appeals' opinion is AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED .
BEATTY, C.J., KITTREDGE, FEW and JAMES, JJ., concur.
We caution this holding does not create a categorical rule establishing this as a recognized area of expertise in every case. If such an expert is challenged, the proper course of action for the trial court remains to hear a proffer of the proposed expert's testimony and determine whether the all of the requirements of Rule 702, SCRE, have been satisfied.
Furthermore, although Galloway-Williams may conduct forensic interviews in her professional capacity, that fact does not bar her from qualifying as an expert witness in another area. As the trial judge properly noted,
State v. Kromah
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The STATE, Respondent, v. Roy Lee JONES, Petitioner.
- Cited By
- 33 cases
- Status
- Published