State of Tennessee v. John A. Boatfield

Case Number
E2000-01500-CCA-R3-CD

I concur in all respects save one. I seriously question the conclusion that all of the victim’s statements to her mother were admissible as excited utterances. A declarant’s opinion about who caused an event would ordinarily not be admissible even if the declarant appeared and testified at a trial. Here, I do not believe that the victim’s opinion about who started the fire was admissible.  However, given the location and timing of the fire, the inferences drawn by the victim as to the potential cause of it would be obvious to the jury in any event. Thus, I do not believe that the error affected the verdict.

Authoring Judge
Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Originating Judge
Judge Rebecca J. Stern
Case Name
State of Tennessee v. John A. Boatfield
Date Filed
Dissent or Concur
No
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