133 Nev., Advance Opinion eig
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA
LYUDMYLA ABID, No. 69995
Appellant,
vs. FILED
SEAN ABID,
Respondent.
DEC 0 7 2017
Appeal from a district court order modifying child custody.
Eighth Judicial District Court, Family Court Division, Clark County; Linda
Marquis, Judge.
Affirmed.
Radford J. Smith, Chartered, and Radford J. Smith, Kimberly A. Medina,
and Garima Varshney, Henderson,
for Appellant.
Black & LoBello and John D. Jones, Las Vegas,
for Respondent.
BEFORE THE COURT EN BANC.
OPINION
By the Court, STIGLICH, J.:
In this child custody• proceeding, a father surreptitiously
recorded his child and ex-wife's conversations by hiding a recording device
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in the child's backpack. Because neither the child nor the mother consented
to this recording, the father's actions likely violated NRS 200.650, which
prohibits the surreptitious recording of nonconsenting individuals' private
conversations. The question presented is whether the district court abused
its discretion by providing the recordings to a psychologist appointed by the
court to evaluate the child's welfare. We hold that the district court properly
exercised its discretion in determining that the recordings would assist the
expert in forming her opinion. Therefore, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Sean and Lyudmyla Abid divorced in 2010. Their stipulated
divorce decree awarded them joint legal and joint physical custody of their
one-year old child. In 2015, Sean moved to modify those terms to get
primary physical custody.
On at least two separate occasions, Sean placed a recording
device in the child's backpack as the child traveled to Lyudmyla's home.
The child and Lyudmyla were unaware of the device, and neither consented
to Sean recording their conversations. Sean then edited the recordings,
removed what he claims to be irrelevant material, and destroyed the
originals. Claiming that the recordings demonstrated Lyudmyla's attempts
to manipulate the child, Sean moved to admit them into evidence in the
custody proceeding. Lyudmyla objected on grounds that Sean violated NRS
200.650 in recording her and the child's private conversations.
The district court found that Sean likely violated NRS 200.650
and denied Sean's motion to admit the recordings into evidence.
Nonetheless, the court provided the recordings to a psychologist, Dr.
Holland, whom the court had appointed to interview and evaluate the child.
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The court permitted Dr. Holland to consider the recordings as she
formulated her opinions.
At the evidentiary hearing, Dr. Holland testified that
Lyudmyla's behavior was "creating confusion, distress, and divided loyalty"
in the child. She based her opinion in part on the recordings, as well as
interviews with the child, Sean, and Lyudmyla, email and text
communications between Sean and Lyudmyla, and the parties' pleadings.
After considering Dr. Holland's testimony and other evidence
presented, the district court found that, "[a] s a direct result of [Lyudmyla's]
direct and overt actions, the child is experiencing: confusion; distress; a
divided loyalty between his parents; and a decreased desire to spend time
with [Sean]." Consequently, the court determined it was in the child's best
interest that Sean be awarded primary physical custody. Lyudmyla appeals
from that order.
DISCUSSION
Lyudmyla argues that the district court abused its discretion by
allowing Dr. Holland to consider evidence that Sean obtained in violation of
NRS 200.650. We disagree. Even assuming that Sean violated NRS
200.650 in producing the recordings, 1 the court did not abuse its discretion
in providing them to Dr. Holland.
An expert witness in a child custody proceeding may consider evidence
obtained in violation of NRS 200.650
Lyudmyla argues that Dr. Holland cannot consider evidence
obtained in violation of NRS 200.650, because NRS 50.285(2) allows experts
to consider inadmissible evidence only if the evidence is "of a type
1 We express no opinion as to the legality of Sean's actions.
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reasonably relied upon by experts," and psychologists do not normally rely
upon recordings that are produced illegally.
We review a district court's evidentiary decision for an abuse of
discretion, but, to the extent the decision "rests on a legal interpretation of
the evidence code," we review that legal interpretation de novo. Davis v.
Beling, 128 Nev. 301, 311,
278 P.3d 501, 508 (2012) (internal quotation
marks omitted). Here, we review for an abuse of discretion the district
court's decisions to provide the recordings to Dr. Holland and to deny Sean's
motion to admit. But we review the court's legal conclusions concerning
admissibility de novo.
NRS 200.650 prohibits "intru [sions] upon the privacy of other
persons by surreptitiously. . . recording. . . any private conversation
engaged in by the other persons unless authorized to do so by one of the
persons engaging in the conversation." Sean does not dispute that he
surreptitiously placed a recording device in the child's backpack without the
child's or Lyudmyla's consent. Despite finding that Sean violated NRS
200.650 in producing the recordings, the district court provided them to Dr.
Holland to consider in forming her opinion.
NRS 50.285(2) allows expert witnesses to consider inadmissible
evidence so long as it is "of a type reasonably relied upon by experts in
forming opinions or inferences upon the subject." We reject Lyudmyla's
argument because it shifts NRS 50.285(2)'s focus on the "type" of evidence
at issue to the manner in which the evidence was procured. There is no
doubt that Sean's evidence—a contemporaneous recording of a parent's
unfiltered interactions with a child—is the type of evidence a psychologist
would consider in forming an opinion as to the child's welfare. See, e.g., In
re Marriage of Karonis, 693 N.E.2d 1282, 1286 (Ill. App. Ct. 1998)
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("Reviewing the [allegedly illegally acquired] tapes materially advanced the
[expert witness]' s ability to determine and defend the child's best interests
here."). Under NRS 50.285(2), then, Dr. Holland was permitted to consider
Sean's recordings.
Of course, NRS 50.285(2) cannot permit what another statute
prohibits. But we find no such prohibition in our statutory scheme. While
NRS 179.505(1) authorizes a criminal defendant to move to suppress illegal
recordings, we find no analogous provision in the civil context. Unlike the
analogous federal wiretap law, 2 NRS 200.650 is silent regarding evidence
and admissibility. See NRS 200.690(1) (enforcing NRS 200.650 exclusively
with criminal prosecution and civil damages). We will not read a broad
suppression rule into NRS 200.650, especially when our Legislature has
proven in the criminal context that it knows how to write one. Prohibiting
Dr. Holland from considering this evidence would be conflating criminality
with inadmissibility, which is left to the sound discretion of the court. See
NRS 48.025; NRS 48.035.
Furthermore, prohibiting Dr. Holland from considering this
evidence would do little to effectuate NRS 200.650's express purpose of
protecting an individual's privacy because, in this context, the expert is
already inquiring into private• details of the relationship between parent
and child. NRS 200.650's prohibition against "disclos[ing]" the contents of
illegal recordings cannot reasonably be read to prohibit a court-appointed
expert from considering such evidence in a child custody case, wherein the
218 U.S.C. § 2515 (2012): "Whenever any wire or oral communication
has been intercepted, no part of the contents of such communication and no
evidence derived therefrom may be received in evidence in any trial,
hearing, or other proceeding. . . ." (emphasis added).
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"[cihild's best interest is paramount." Bluestein u. Bluestein, 131 Nev., Adv.
Op. 14, 345 P.3d 1044, 1048 (2015); see also NRS 125C.0045(2).
Nor does our caselaw support Lyudmyla's position This court
has only once addressed the proper remedy in a civil action when a litigant
attempts to use illegally acquired evidence to gain a litigation advantage.
In Lane v. Allstate Insurance Co., Lane illegally recorded phone
conversations in violation of NRS 200.620 to obtain evidence to support tort
and contract claims against his former employer. 3 114 Nev. 1176, 1177,
969
P.2d 938, 939 (1998). The district court sanctioned Lane by dismissing his
complaint. Id. On appeal, this court held that dismissal was too extreme a
litigation sanction and instead sanctioned Lane by prohibiting him from
using the information contained within the recordings "in any fashion." Id.
at 1181 n.4, 969 P.2d at 941 n.4. In sanctioning Lane, however, this court
did not create a bright line rule that illegally obtained evidence cannot be
used in civil proceedings; rather, we held that suppressing Lane's evidence
was an appropriate sanction in that particular case. Id. at 1181,
969 P.2d
at 941.
However, a child custody proceeding is readily distinguishable
from Lane. Whereas Lane was a civil suit for damages, a child custody
proceeding is no "mere adversary proceeding between plaintiff and
defendant." Munson v. Munson, 166 P.2d 268, 271 (Cal. 1946). Here, the
interests of a nonlitigant child are at stake. Prohibiting an expert from
considering evidence punishes that child by hindering the expert's inquiry
3 We note that, whereas Lane's telephonic recordings implicated NRS
200.620, Sean's in-person recordings implicated NRS 200.650. For purposes
of this opinion, however, this is a distinction without a difference.
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into the child's best interests. It is sanctioning the child for the alleged
crime of his parent.
In affirming the lower court's decision, we by no means condone
Sean's actions. Rather, we have determined that the potential deterrent
effect of ignoring Sean's evidence is outweighed by the State's
"overwhelming interest in promoting and protecting the best interests of its
children." Rogers v. Williams, 633 A.2d 747, 749 (Del. Fam. Ct. 1993). We
note that there are numerous ways to deter parents in Sean's position
without risking harm to an innocent minor. See id. at 748 (rejecting the
argument "that by admitting evidence that was obtained illegally, the Court
is giving its approval to lawlessness"). Sean could be prosecuted for
committing what amounts to a category D felony. See NRS 200.690(1)(a);
cf. Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514, 529 (2001) ("The normal method of
deterring unlawful conduct is to impose an appropriate punishment on the
person who engages in it."). NRS 200.690(1)(b) creates a private right of
action for Sean's ex-wife and child to sue for Sean's intrusion into their
privacy. The court can fashion a litigation sanction, such as a fine, that
does not affect the child's interests. See, e.g. , Young v. Johnny Ribeiro Bldg.,
Inc., 106 Nev. 88, 92,
787 P.2d 777, 779 (1990) (holding that courts have
"inherent equitable powers" to sanction parties for "litigation abuses")
(internal quotation marks omitted). Finally, and perhaps most importantly,
potential spies in Sean's position may be deterred by the simple fact that a
parent's lawless invasion into his child's and ex-wife's privacy reflects
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poorly on his parental judgment and may be factored into the court's
decision when determining child custody. 4
There is no per se rule that evidence obtained illegally is inadmissible in a
child custody proceeding
A premise of Lyudmyla's argument is that illegally obtained
evidence is inadmissible in a child custody proceeding. That premise is
unfounded—there is no per se rule of inadmissibility in this context, and we
decline to adopt one. A district court has discretion in a child custody
proceeding to determine whether to admit evidence obtained in violation of
NRS 200.650.
Unless a statute prohibits the admission of relevant evidence,
it is presumed admissible. NRS 48.025(1). As analyzed above, NRS 200.650
contains no language to rebut that presumption. A per se rule of
inadmissibility would sweep broader than the exclusionary rule in the
criminal context, 5 and it would be particularly inappropriate here because
4 This statement does not affect our holding in Sims v. Sims "that a
court may not use changes of custody as a sword to punish parental
misconduct." 109 Nev. 1146, 1149,
865 P.2d 328, 330 (1993). But Sims does
not prevent a court from considering how a parent's conduct reflects on their
judgment.
5 NRS 179.505 permits an aggrieved party in a criminal proceeding to
move to suppress illegally intercepted recordings; it does not render such
recordings per se inadmissible. CI Utah v. Strieff, U.S. , 136 S. Ct.
2056, 2059 (2016) (creating the attenuation exception to the exclusionary
rule); United States v. Patane, 542 U.S. 630, 642 (2004) (holding that the
exclusionary rule does not apply to physical evidence obtained as a result of
questioning that violated Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)); Harris
v. New York, 401 U.S. 222, 226 (1971) (allowing evidence obtained in
violation of Miranda to be admitted for impeachment purposes); Walder v.
United States, 347 U.S. 62, 65 (1954) (same for evidence obtained in
violation of the Fourth Amendment).
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a district court "needs to consider as much relevant evidence as possible
when deciding child custody." Rogers, 633 A.2d at 749 (admitting allegedly
illegally obtained evidence in a child custody proceeding); accord Munson,
166 P.2d at 271 ("[T]he controlling rights are those of the minor child and
of the state in the child's welfare."); Lee v. Lee, 967 S.W.2d 82, 85 (Mo. Ct.
App. 1998) ("Even evidence obtained fraudulently, wrongfully, or illegally
is admissible.").
This presumption of admissibility dates back to the common
law, wherein admissibility was not affected by the illegal means used to
acquire evidence. See, e.g., Terrano v. State, 59 Nev. 247, 256,
91 P.2d 67,
70 (1939), overruled in part by Whitley v. State,
79 Nev. 406, 412 n.5,
386
P.2d 93, 96 n.5 (1963). While Mapp v. Ohio altered this common law rule
by excluding evidence illegally acquired by the government in criminal
cases, 367 U.S. 643 (1961), Mapp's exclusionary rule does not extend to
evidence illegally acquired by a private individual in a civil case. In Sackler
v. Sackler, for example, a husband trespassed into his wife's home to obtain
evidence relevant to a divorce proceeding. 203 N.E.2d 481, 482 (N.Y. 1964).
The New York Court of Appeals rejected the wife's argument that Mapp
rendered the illegally acquired evidence inadmissible because Mapp's
exclusionary rule was meant to deter governmental intrusions; absent a
governmental invasion, suppressing evidence would frustrate courts' search
for truth. Id. at 483 ("[J]udicial rules of evidence were never meant to be
used as an indirect method of punishment of trespassers and other lawless
intruders." (internal quotation marks omitted)). Thus, the husband's
illegally acquired evidence was admissible. Id.
Similarly, in the related child abuse/neglect context, courts
routinely hold that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment
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is admissible because "the substantial social cost of ignoring children's
safety" exceeds "the minimal additional deterrence achieved by applying the
exclusionary rule." In re W.L.P., 202 P.3d 167, 173 (Or. 2009); accord In re
Mary S., 230 Cal. Rptr. 726, 728 (Ct. App. 1986) ("[The potential harm to
children in allowing them to remain in an unhealthy environment
outweighs any deterrent effect which would result from suppressing
evidence unlawfully seized." (internal quotation marks omitted)); In re
Diane P., 494 N.Y.S.2d 881, 884 (App. Div. 1985) ("[T] he State's
overwhelming interest in protecting and promoting the best interests and
safety of minors in a child protective proceeding far outweighs the rule's
deterrent value."); State ex rel. A.R. v. CR., 982 P.2d 73, 79 (Utah 1999)
("Whatever deterrent effect there might be is far outweighed by the need to
provide for the safety and health of children in peril.").
A per se rule of inadmissibility would force the district court to
close its eyes to relevant evidence and possibly place or leave a child in a
dangerous living situation. In this instance, the illegally acquired
recordings contained no dispositive evidence—they reflected at most one
parent's attempt to alienate the child from the other parent. More
concerning, however, would be a scenario in which an illegally obtained
recording contains evidence of physical or sexual abuse of a child.
Categorically excluding such evidence would clearly be against the best
interests of the minor and, therefore, in contravention of NRS 125C.0045(2).
Thus, because the recordings' alleged illegality did not render
them inadmissible, the court had "broad discretion" in performing its
evidentiary gatekeeping function to rule on their admissibility. Sheehan &
Sheehan v. Nelson Malley & Co., 121 Nev. 481, 492,
117 P.3d 219, 226(2005)
(internal quotation marks omitted). To the extent that the district court
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excluded Sean's recordings based on its belief that the law required
exclusion of illegally obtained evidence, that ruling was erroneous. Even
so, that error would be harmless because it did not affect the court's decision
to award Sean primary custody. See NRCP 61.
The district court did not otherwise abuse its discretion in awarding Sean
primary custody
Lyudmyla presented two additional arguments on appeal:
(1) that the district court abused its discretion by misinterpreting and
relying on Dr. Holland's opinion and interviews with the child, and (2) that
the district court ordered the change in custody simply to punish Lyudmyla,
in violation of Sims, 109 Nev. at 1149,
865 P.2d at 330.
After a careful review of the record, we find these claims to be
without merit. The district court properly exercised its discretion in
weighing the evidence presented over the course of the two-and-one-half day
evidentiary hearing. The district court's factual findings support its
determination as to the child's best interest.
CONCLUSION
In a child custody setting, the "[Ohild's best interest is
paramount." Bluestein, 131 Nev., Adv. Op. 14, 345 P.3d at 1048. The court's
duty to determine the best interests of a nonlitigant child must outweigh
the policy interest in deterring illegal conduct between parent litigants.
Accordingly, the district court did not abuse its discretion in providing the
recordings to the expert because reviewing them furthered the expert's
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evaluation of the child's relationship with his parents and aided the district
court's determination as to the child's best interest. Accordingly, we affirm.
J.
Stiglich
We concur:
C. J.
Cher
Gibbons
J.
Hardesty
J.
Parraguirre
geku J.
Pickering
DOUGLAS, J., concurring:
I concur with the majority in result only.
cTh:Do_ei css. J.
Douglas
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