Expert opinion offered by a psychologist or psychiatrist is just that and not subject to the Frye standards for admissibility in a case where the witness is predicting the future dangerousness of a sexual predator.
Ward had three previous convictions for sexually violent criminal behavior in the 1980's. The last of these carried a twenty-year term of imprisonment. He was due for release in 1997. The state filed a proceeding under the Sexually Violent Predators Act (SVP) to transfer and continue his confinement with the Department of Mental Health at the expiration of his prison term.
The SVP requires a jury trial, where the primary issue is whether or not the defendant is a sexually violent predator and whether or not he is likely to offend again. The state offered the testimony of a psychologist and a psychiatrist. One had conducted a document review as did the other, whose interview with Ward ended when Ward became irritated and stopped it. Both experts concluded that Ward was a sexually violent predator.
The defense objected to the testimony of both experts, contending that the testimony did not meet the Frye standard for admissibility of scientific evidence. The defendant offered the expert opinion of a psychologist, Donaldson, who testified that it is more accurate to predict sexually violent behavior with an actuarial model rather than the clinical model used by state's experts. Donaldson was not asked and did not offer an opinion as to whether or not Ward was a SVP. The trial court overruled the objection. The jury found Ward a SVP and he was committed to the Department of Mental Health for a term of two years.
Ward appealed. The Court held that testimony of the state's experts was allowable and not subject to the Frye test. This is because opinion evidence is clearly distinguishable from scientific evidence. Ward's argument is essentially with the methodology used by the state's experts; California courts, however, have long held that they will not dictate how an expert conducts a journey into a patient's mind.
