Smith v. State

2022 Ark. App. 422

654 S.W.3d 701

Ashley SMITH, Appellant

v.STATE of Arkansas, Appellee

No. CR-22-104

Court of Appeals of Arkansas, DIVISION III.

Opinion Delivered October 26, 2022

Willard Proctor, Jr., P.A., by: Willard Proctor, Jr., Little Rock, for appellant.

Leslie Rutledge, Att'y Gen., by: Pamela Rumpz, Sr. Ass't Att'y Gen., for appellee.

STEPHANIE POTTER BARRETT, Judge

Ashley Smith ("Ms. Smith") appeals the order of conviction in the Pulaski County Circuit Court of battery in the first degree and the sentence of 180 months in the Arkansas Department of Correction, arguing the circuit court erred in admitting the testimony of a medical diagnosis of child abuse and erred in denying her motion for a directed verdict. We affirm.

Around noon on January 24, 2016, Ms. Smith's minor child, a two-year-old son, received severe burns to his forearm, thighs, buttocks, genitals, lower legs, and feet that required hospitalization and skin grafts. On February 29, 2016, a felony information was filed against Ms. Smith for battery in the first degree, and a trial began on September 1, 2021.

Mr. Coats, the minor child's father, testified that Ms. Smith called him, claiming to have chest pains requiring transportation to the hospital. When he arrived, he found that the minor child had burns and was told by Ms. Smith that the child had received medical attention but had taken off his bandages. However, about fifteen minutes later, he called 911 because he "couldn't understand what really happened to [Minor Child]." The 911 call was received around 6:30 p.m. and was responded to by Captain James Reed of the Little Rock Fire Department.

Captain Reed testified the call he received was for a panic attack Ms. Smith was having. Upon arriving he found Ms. Smith lying on the kitchen floor and unresponsive to verbal commands. He was informed of the minor child's injuries by Mr. Coats and observed burns that went "up into the legs and around the waist area as well." Captain Reed testified that when he began assessing Minor Child, Ms. Smith became oriented and alert and stood up from the kitchen floor. Minor Child was taken to Arkansas Children's Hospital via ambulance, where he received treatment for the next fifteen days.

Detective Wade Neihouse testified to Ms. Smith's interview at Arkansas Children's Hospital, which was also played for the jury, in which Ms. Smith stated she was running a bath for herself while Minor Child watched television, she left the room to get clothing and heard Minor Child crying. She then found him "kicking and screaming" in the bath water and she "yanked" him out of the bathtub. Ms. Smith admitted the water was very hot. She stated she didn't call an ambulance for Minor Child because she was afraid to talk to a social worker, stating, "I don't have time for DHS, I really don't." Ms. Smith's testimony at trial reflected the same version of events she described to Detective Neihouse during the interview.

Dr. Rachel Clingenpeel testified as one of the minor child's treating physicians at Arkansas Children's Hospital and also as an expert in the field of pediatrics and the subspecialty of child-abuse pediatrics without objection. She stated Minor Child had significant burn injuries requiring inpatient hospitalization in the burn unit so that he could get ongoing specialty care. She explained Minor Child required debridement and a skin graft. Dr. Clingenpeel made a medical diagnosis of child physical abuse after examining Minor Child and observing he had "multiple injuries that had required multiple mechanisms to occur and were actually of multiple ages." She stated the history Ms. Smith provided was not consistent with the appearance of the burns; rather, the injuries were consistent with what is known as a force-immersion burn or immersion into hot water. She explained Minor Child's burns reflected an absence of movement, and by looking at the distribution of his burns, she was able to determine he was not moving or was not able to freely move at the time he was burned.

Ms. Smith argues that under Arkansas Rule of Evidence 403, the testimony of Dr. Clingenpeel's medical diagnosis of child abuse should not have been admitted because (1) it was unfairly prejudicial; (2) it was confusing to the jury; and (3) a mechanism of injury had to first be established. She further argued that it was erroneous to deny her motion for directed verdict.

Although it is Smith's last argument on appeal, we must first address the directed-verdict ruling, which is treated as a sufficiency-of-the-evidence argument, for the purposes of double jeopardy. Lewondowski v. State , 2022 Ark. 46, 639 S.W.3d. 850 ; Clemons v. State , 2010 Ark. 337, 369 S.W.3d 710. In reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, our standard of review is whether the jury's verdict is supported by substantial evidence. Costner v. Adams , 82 Ark. App. 148, 121 S.W.3d 164 (2003). This court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, considering only the evidence that supports the guilty verdict. Jordan v. State , 356 Ark. 248, 254, 147 S.W.3d 691, 694 (2004). A criminal defendant's intent or state of mind is seldom capable of proof by direct evidence; therefore, intent may be inferred from the facts and circumstances of the particular case. Harper v. State , 359 Ark. 142, 194 S.W.3d 730 (2004). The evidence, whether direct or circumstantial, is sufficient to support a conviction if it compels a conclusion and passes beyond mere suspicion or conjecture. Hall v. State , 361 Ark. 379, 383, 206 S.W.3d 830, 833 (2005).

To prove first-degree battery, the State was required to prove Ms. Smith knowingly caused injury to Minor Child under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life. Ark. Code Ann. § 5-13-201(a)(9) (Supp. 2021). Here, Ms. Smith argues that without resorting to sheer speculation, there was not sufficient evidence to establish she had the requisite criminal intent. We disagree. Evidence presented at trial in support of the guilty verdict included the fact that the minor child was in the sole care of Ms. Smith. During Ms. Smith's interview at Arkansas Children's hospital, she stated that around noon, she ran the bath, which was admittedly very hot, and went to get pajamas while the minor child was watching television. Suddenly, she heard the minor child screaming and hollering and found him in the bathwater "going crazy, like...