Hyde v. State

I respectfully dissent from the majority’s holding in Division 1 that the admission of a nurse practitioner’s testimony stating her opinion the victim had been sexually abused was not error. I do not agree that the witness was qualified to testify on a matter requiring an expert medical opinion.

The nurse practitioner, Laurie McAfee, first testified regarding the medical history she took from the victim. Although evidence of statements made by a patient describing medical history is admissible under OCGA § 23-3-4 insofar as such statements were “reasonably pertinent to diagnosis or treatment,”…