Recent Development by Missy Thornton
Thirty-four-year-old John Amos Chauvin (Chauvin) was accused of sexually molesting his fiancée's niece and her niece's friend in June of 1999. Fifteen year-old A.C. testified that she was visiting her friend A.L.'s home on Father's Day when Chauvin sexually molested her. Fourteen-year-old A.L. claimed that later that same day Chauvin put his tongue in her mouth when kissing her goodbye. The alleged incidents were reported four days later to the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Department by A.C.'s older sister, in whom the two girls confided. Chauvin was later convicted in Louisiana District Court for the Parish of Terrebonne on two counts of indecent behavior with juveniles.
At the trial, the State sought to introduce the testimony of a clinical social worker who had treated one of the girls for Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). Because the social worker's expert opinion indicated that A.C.'s PTSD symptoms were consistent with those of a sexual abuse victim, the State introduced the testimony as substantive evidence that A.C. had in fact been sexually abused. Despite the defendant's objection, the trial court allowed the State to introduce the social worker's testimony without holding a hearing to determine whether the expert's testimony was scientifically reliable, and thus admissible, under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Finding that the trial court had erroneously failed to hold a Daubert hearing, the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal reversed the convictions and remanded the matter for a new trial. The Supreme Court of Louisiana held that an expert's diagnosis of PTSD, when used to prove that sexual abuse has occurred, is not scientifically reliable under Daubert, and therefore is inadmissible. State v. Chauvin, 846 So. 2d 697, 709 (La. 2003).
About the Author
Missy Thornton.
Citation
78 Tul. L. Rev. 1743 (2004)