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State v. Demeniuk8/27/2004
The State of Florida petitions for a writ of certiorari to quash the order of the circuit court denying the motion of the State for a Frye hearing, and granting the motion of the Respondent, Leslie Demeniuk, a/k/a Leslie Ewing, to vacate an earlier order requiring a Frye hearing. The purpose of the requested Frye hearing was to consider the admissibility of certain expert testimony proposed to be offered by Ms. Demeniuk at her trial for murder. Because the trial court's rulings in this regard departed from the essential requirements of law, which might result in irreparable harm, we grant the petition.
Ms. Demeniuk is charged with the first-degree murder of her 4-year old twin boys. The State is seeking the death penalty. Ms. Demeniuk has given notice that she intends to rely on the defense of insanity. It is the nature of the asserted insanity that gives rise to the present dispute.
Ms. Demeniuk indicated to the trial court that her insanity was substance induced, which she asserts led to involuntary intoxication, and the eventual deaths of her children. In support of her position she retained two doctors, David Menkes and Ernest Miller, who provided reports supporting her claim of insanity. These doctors attributed Ms. Demeniuk's insanity to the prescribed use of modern anti-depressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Among the SSRIs marketed commonly are Zoloft and Paxil. According to her experts, her use of SSRIs caused "akathisia," which in turn caused Ms. Demeniuk to "self-medicate" with alcohol to an involuntary 0.27 blood-alcohol level, and resulted in her killing her children.
In response, the State also hired two experts, Dr. Alan Waldman and Dr. Douglas Jacobs. These doctors deny the existence of SSRI-induced akathisia with resulting homicidal actions, and both assert that the scientific principles upon which the defense relies are not generally accepted in the scientific community. The trial court, however, declined to consider their testimony.
The State then filed two motions in limine regarding the assertion of SSRI-induced homicidal behavior, contending that the matters proposed to be testified to by the defense experts were subject to analysis under Frye. Initially, the trial court by letter to counsel denied the motion for a Frye hearing, noting that pure opinion testimony of an expert is not subject to Frye. The State, however, persisted in its quest for Frye consideration of the theory espoused by Ms. Demeniuk's expert witnesses. Specifically, the State objected to the testimony of the defense experts concerning an alleged causal connection between suicide and SSRIs, and concerning the proposed testimony that taking SSRIs cause involuntary alcohol consumption. The State contended that the defense testimony on neither subject was pure opinion, that the conclusions were new and novel, and that a Frye analysis was, therefore, appropriate. The trial court eventually agreed to consider the issues raised, and set a hearing in February of 2004.
At the hearing Dr. Menkes, the only witness called, testified for about five hours. When the State cross-examined Dr. Menkes concerning studies he relied on in reaching his opinion regarding the effects of SSRIs, the witness related that he based his opinion on two studies regarding premenstrual syndrome that were undertaken in 1992 and 1993, and on a third unpublished Scottish study regarding depression suffered by some women during premenstrual time periods. He agreed that he had not personally been engaged in research trials of the drugs, but said that he used the results of that research in his clinical practice. Finally, he stated that he also relied on a healthy volunte
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