RAUL CAMEJO, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT

Fla. | 1995-05-25
No. 83909
GRIMES, C.J., and OVERTON, SHAW, KOGAN, HARDING, WELLS and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur.
660 So. 2d 242 Florida Supreme Court (1995) Positive Treatment
Cited by 9 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the Fifth District Court of Appeal's decision quashing a trial court order compelling a sexual battery victim to undergo a psychiatric examination. The court established that while trial courts have inherent power to order such examinations, they are only justified in limited circumstances: to determine competency to testify or upon strong and compelling evidence regarding credibility, but not merely because testimony is uncorroborated.


Holding

Trial courts have inherent power to order psychological examinations of witnesses, but only in two valid circumstances: (1) when the witness's mental competency to testify is in question, or (2) when there is strong and compelling evidence that the examination is necessary to attack the witness's credibility. Uncorroborated testimony alone is not a valid basis for ordering such an examination in Florida.


Headnotes

[1] Trial courts possess the inherent power to order psychological examinations of witnesses.

[2] A psychological examination of a victim may be ordered when the victim's competency to testify is in question.

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Key Quotes

“trial courts have the inherent power to order psychological examinations. These examinations have been historically ordered in other jurisdictions, where one of three situations exists: (a) uncorroborated, testimony of victim; (b) competency of victim is in question; and (c) the victim's credibility is at issue.”

Establishes the three traditional circumstances for ordering psychiatric examinations

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Facts & Procedural History

Raul Camejo was charged with sexual battery and battery against his live-in girlfriend. Camejo filed a motion to compel the alleged victim to undergo …

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Opinion of the Court
PER curiam:.

PER curiam:.

We have for review State v. Camejo, 641 So. 2d 109 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994), in which the district court of appeal certified the following as a question of great public importance:

WHAT STANDARDS SHOULD THE TRIAL COURT FOLLOW IN ORDERING AND COMPELLING WITNESSES TO UNDERGO PRETRIAL MEDICAL AND PSYCHIATRIC EXAMINATIONS; AND, WHAT STANDARD OF REVIEW SHOULD THE APPELLATE COURT APPLY IN SUCH CASES?

Id. at 114. We have jurisdiction under article V, section 3(b)(4) of the Florida Constitution.

The petitioner, Raul Camejo, was charged with one count of sexual battery and one count of battery against his live-in girlfriend. Camejo filed a motion to compel the alleged victim to undergo a psychological examination. The motion alleged that Camejo’s counsel had uncovered facts pointing toward the mental and emotional instability of the alleged victim.1 At the hearing on the motion, the trial court granted the motion and ordered the victim to submit to a psychological examination to be conducted by a court-appointed psychiatrist. The psychiatrist’s evaluation report was to be sent to the court and then disclosed only to counsel for the state and the defense. An in-camera hearing was to be held later to determine the use, if any, of the evaluation in any further proceedings.

The Fifth District Court of Appeal granted the State’s petition for writ of certiorari and quashed the ordered examination. In its opinion, the court first discussed pertinent cases on the subject from both within and without the State of Florida. The court then stated:

In summary, Florida law accords with the majority rule in other jurisdictions that trial courts have the inherent power to order psychological examinations. These examinations have been historically ordered in other jurisdictions, where one of three situations exists: (a) uncorroborated, testimony of victim; (b) competency of victim is in question; and (c) the victim’s credibility is at issue. Section 794.022 specifically provides that testimony of a sexual abuse victim need not be corroborated; therefore, this would be an invalid reason to order such an examination in Florida. Of course the mental competency of a victim/witness would always be a valid reason to order such an examination in a criminal prosecution. See generally, Goldstein v. State, 447 So. 2d 903 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). And lastly, credibility may be a reason to order such an examination, but only if there is strong and compelling evidence. [State v. ] Coe [521 So. 2d 373 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988) ]; Dinkins [v. State ] [244 So. 2d 148 (Fla. 4th DCa 1971) ].

Camejo, 641 So. 2d at 113. Applying these principles to the case at hand, the court concluded that Camejo had failed to demonstrate any compelling or extreme circumstances which could establish the need for a psychological evaluation of the victim.

Clearly, Camejo’s motion fell short of demonstrating that an examination was necessary to determine the competency of the victim to testify. Moreover, we agree with the court below that Camejo failed to present sufficiently compelling evidence to justify ordering the examination for the purpose of helping him attack her veracity and credibility. Upon careful consideration, we approve and adopt as our own the well-reasoned opinion of the court below. We have concluded not to answer the certified question because it is worded more broadly than the scope of the opinion.

It is so ordered.

GRIMES, C.J., and OVERTON, SHAW, KOGAN, HARDING, WELLS and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur. . Camejo’s motion included excerpts of deposition testimony from various witnesses allegedly indicating the mental and emotional instability of the victim. This testimony included allegations that the victim: (1) had been arrested for beating and biting her mother; (2) had herself been the victim of domestic violence at the hands of a former live-in boyfriend; (3) had formed a fantasy future with another former boyfriend and had followed him to Indiana after he broke up with her; (4) had put a shovel through the windshield of another former boyfriend’s car; (5) had attempted suicide in the past; and (6) had a tendency to become loud and crazy when drinking.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Simmons v. State, 683 So. 2d 1101 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996)
    …buse of discretion to deny the defendant’s motion for a psychological examination of a victim notwithstanding the fact that the victim had a history of “psychiatric disorder.”1 In State v. Camejo, 641 So. 2d 109 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994), opinion adopted, 660 So. 2d 242 (Fla.1995), the fifth district found that, despite allegations of a witness’ history of violence and mental instability, a psychological examination was not warranted. The mere fact that a witness is retarded or may have a history of mental problems…
  • State v. Patterson, 694 So. 2d 55 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997)
    …d and the state cannot appeal); see also State v. Camejo, 641 So. 2d 109 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994) (state's petition for certiorari review of order requiring sexual assault victim to submit to psychological evaluation granted and order quashed), approved, 660 So. 2d 242 (Fla. 1995). . Although the amendment was enacted several years after the commission of the charged offenses and the filing of the information, we find the amendment retroactively applicable under the reasoning of City of Orlando v. Desjardins, 493…
  • Edsel A. Griffin v. State, 722 So. 2d 232 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)
    …PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See Jaffee v. Redmond, 518 U.S. 1, 116 S.Ct. 1923, 135 L.Ed.2d 337 (1996); State v. Camejo, 641 So. 2d 109 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994), adopted, 660 So. 2d 242 (Fla.1995). COBB, GOSHORN and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.…

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