State v. Gaspar

Summary

The Rhode Island Supreme Court considered Shane M. Gaspar’s appeal from convictions on five counts of first-degree sexual assault. The court addressed the admission of testimony concerning prior consensual sexual conduct under Rules 404(b) and 403, a medical report narrative under the hearsay exception for medical diagnosis and treatment, and expert testimony concerning the age of bruising. The court held that admission of the former girlfriend’s testimony was reversible error because its prejudicial effect outweighed its probative value, and it vacated the Superior Court judgment.

Holdings

1. Even assuming the testimony was admissible for a non-character purpose under Rule 404(b), its probative value was substantially outweighed by the danger of confusion, misleading the jury, and unfair prejudice under Rule 403. The trial justice therefore erred in admitting it.
2. The verbatim, unredacted narrative in the medical summary was inadmissible under Rule 803(4) because it contained details unrelated to diagnosis or treatment and assigned criminal fault to the defendant. Its admission was prejudicial error.
3. The trial justice did not abuse her discretion by permitting the emergency-room physician to testify that the bruises were sustained within approximately twenty-four hours of examination.

Questions Presented

1. Whether testimony from defendant's former girlfriend concerning prior consensual rough or aggressive sexual activity was admissible under Rhode Island Rule of Evidence 404(b) and, in any event, Rule 403.
2. Whether the complaining witness's narrative in the medical report was admissible under the medical-diagnosis-and-treatment hearsay exception in Rule 803(4).
3. Whether the trial justice properly permitted an emergency-room physician to offer an opinion concerning the approximate age of the complaining witness's bruises without additional medical or forensic foundation.

Disposition

vacated