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705 KB
Extraction Summary
5
People
5
Organizations
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Locations
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Events
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Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Legal document
File Size:
705 KB
Summary
This legal document, part of a court filing, argues for the admissibility of expert testimony from Dr. Rocchio regarding delayed disclosure in sexual abuse cases. It cites several legal precedents (Raniere, Young, Betcher) to demonstrate that such testimony is helpful for juries to understand victim behavior. The document also addresses the defendant's specific challenge that Dr. Rocchio is not an expert on memory in general, with the Government conceding that point but affirming her expertise in the relevant field of trauma psychology.
People (5)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Raniere |
Mentioned as the defendant in a cited case, Raniere, 2019 WL 2212639.
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| Young |
Mentioned as the defendant in a cited case, United States v. Young.
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| Betcher |
Mentioned as the defendant in a cited case, United States v. Betcher.
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| Dr. Levitt | Expert |
Mentioned for providing testimony on delayed disclosure in the Betcher case.
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| Dr. Rocchio | Expert |
An expert whose opinions on delayed disclosure and traumatic memory are being discussed. The defendant challenges her...
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Organizations (5)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| United States | government agency |
Party in the cited cases United States v. Young and United States v. Betcher.
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| 9th Cir. | government agency |
Refers to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which decided the United States v. Young case in 2015.
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| 8th Cir. | government agency |
Refers to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which decided the United States v. Betcher case in 2008.
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| The Government | government agency |
Mentioned in a footnote as agreeing that Dr. Rocchio is not an expert in memory generally, but is an expert in trauma...
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| DOJ | government agency |
Appears in the footer document identifier 'DOJ-OGR-00005814', likely standing for Department of Justice.
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Timeline (1 events)
Relationships (2)
The defendant is challenging the admissibility and scope of Dr. Rocchio's expert opinions in a legal proceeding.
The Government is defending Dr. Rocchio's expertise in trauma psychology in response to the defendant's challenge.
Key Quotes (4)
"disclosure by sexual assault victims often unfolds over time, and the process of disclosure is influenced by multiple and changing factors including, but not limited to, the specific characteristics of the experience, the victim’s psychological vulnerabilities, the victim’s relationship to her perpetrator and her pattern of recovery and coping"Source
— Raniere, 2019 WL 2212639
(Quoted from a court case to support the admission of expert testimony on the topic.)
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Quote #1
"[The expert] testified that . . . delayed disclosures, piecemeal disclosures and/or even recanted disclosures are coping mechanisms. . . . [The expert]’s testimony was helpful and probative because [the defendant] had attacked the victims’ credibility based on their delayed and incomplete reports of abuse."Source
— United States v. Young, 623 F. App’x 863, 865-66
(Quoted from a 9th Circuit case to show precedent for allowing expert testimony on delayed disclosure.)
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Quote #2
"In this case, Dr. Levitt’s testimony as to delayed disclosure helped the jury understand why the girls did not reveal they had been photographed until they were confronted with the images."Source
— United States v. Betcher, 534 F.3d 820, 826
(Quoted from an 8th Circuit case to illustrate the helpfulness of expert testimony on delayed disclosure.)
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Quote #3
"the human brain or memory generally."Source
— The defendant
(A quote from the defendant's motion (Def. Mot. 3 at 17) arguing that Dr. Rocchio is not an expert in this area.)
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Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,078 characters)
Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 397 Filed 10/29/21 Page 31 of 84
traumatic experiences” (second alteration in original)); Raniere, 2019 WL 2212639, at *3, *7 (admitting expert testimony that “disclosure by sexual assault victims often unfolds over time, and the process of disclosure is influenced by multiple and changing factors including, but not limited to, the specific characteristics of the experience, the victim’s psychological vulnerabilities, the victim’s relationship to her perpetrator and her pattern of recovery and coping”); United States v. Young, 623 F. App’x 863, 865-66 (9th Cir. 2015) (“[The expert] testified that . . . delayed disclosures, piecemeal disclosures and/or even recanted disclosures are coping mechanisms. . . . [The expert]’s testimony was helpful and probative because [the defendant] had attacked the victims’ credibility based on their delayed and incomplete reports of abuse.” (citations and internal quotation marks omitted)); United States v. Betcher, 534 F.3d 820, 826 (8th Cir. 2008) (“In this case, Dr. Levitt’s testimony as to delayed disclosure helped the jury understand why the girls did not reveal they had been photographed until they were confronted with the images.”).
The defendant suggests that Dr. Rocchio’s opinions on delayed disclosure are not helpful to the jury because they are too generic. As set forth here and more fully in Dr. Rocchio’s Jencks Act material, Dr. Rocchio has elaborated on her opinions about the relationship between child sexual abuse and traumatic memory.7 The defendant adds that, because Dr. Rocchio’s opinion is that delayed disclosure is consistent with sexual abuse but not a necessary consequence of sexual abuse, jurors have no means to determine whether a Minor Victim is lying or telling the truth.
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7 The defendant also argues that Dr. Rocchio is not an expert in “the human brain or memory generally.” (Def. Mot. 3 at 17). The Government agrees. But Dr. Rocchio is an expert in trauma psychology, which includes related issues of memory.
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DOJ-OGR-00005814
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