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State v. Cookson12/1/2003
fy as an expert and the relevance of her testimony. Cookson preserved these challenges with timely objections.
The nurse practitioner worked as a registered nurse in emergency rooms, intensive care, and floor nursing for twenty-five years. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees and is licensed as a nurse practitioner in which capacity she had worked for three years. She testified that as a licensed nurse practitioner, she is authorized to diagnose and treat common medical problems. According to the nurse practitioner, depression is a common diagnosis and not a complex one. She is not supervised by a physician but consults with physicians on difficult cases. She is authorized to prescribe medications including narcotics.
The nurse practitioner first met Gould in July 1999. The appointment was for a routine physical, and Gould talked about how depressed she was. The nurse practitioner administered a test for diagnostic purposes, and the test results demonstrated that Gould was depressed. The nurse practitioner diagnosed Gould as suffering from "depression, anxiety and situational stress secondary to emotional abuse by boyfriend." She testified that Gould told her she was depressed because of her relationship with Cookson. The nurse practitioner provided medication and referred Gould to Womancare, which she described as "a peer counseling advocacy group for abused women."
The nurse practitioner next heard from Gould in October when she saw her for a back injury resulting from an automobile accident. They spoke by telephone in November when Gould requested more medication for her depression, and Gould complained to the nurse practitioner that Cookson was following her. The nurse practitioner encouraged Gould to get a restraining order and to follow up with Womancare. When Gould went to the nurse's office to pick up the medication, they spoke further, and the nurse practitioner, with Gould's permission, phoned the police. The nurse practitioner testified that she did so because "I wanted them to know that I felt she was in grave physical danger." At Cookson's request that last remark was stricken from the record, but his request for a mistrial was denied.
Cookson argues that because there was no evidence that the nurse practitioner had any training or education in diagnosing and treating mental illnesses, and very little evidence of her experience in doing so, she was not qualified to state her opinion of the diagnosis for "depression, anxiety and situational stress secondary to emotional abuse by boyfriend." We review a trial court's determination of the qualifications of an expert under M.R. Evid. 702 for abuse of discretion. In re Jon N., 2000 ME 123, 8, 754 A.2d 346, 349.
The State's presentation of evidence to establish the nurse practitioner's qualifications to diagnose and treat Gould's psychological condition was minimal. There was no evidence as to her training or education specific to diagnosing or treating depression or other psychological conditions. However, the court could have inferred sufficient training and experience from her testimony that she was licensed as a nurse practitioner; had a master's degree; commonly diagnosed depression; and had administered to others the same diagnostic test that she gave to Gould.
Rule 702 of the Maine Rules of Evidence provides that a person who is an expert "by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education" may give an opinion concerning scientific, technical, or specialized knowledge. We defer to the trial court on the determination of whether the expert's qualifications are sufficient to allow the expert to testify. See State v. Tibbetts, 572 A.2d 142, 143 (Me. 1990). A
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