State v. Gregory

338 S.E.2d 110, 78 N.C. App. 565, 1985 N.C. App. LEXIS 4330
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedDecember 31, 1985
Docket8518SC760
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 338 S.E.2d 110 (State v. Gregory) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Gregory, 338 S.E.2d 110, 78 N.C. App. 565, 1985 N.C. App. LEXIS 4330 (N.C. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

HEDRICK, Chief Judge.

At trial the State introduced the following evidence:

1. The victim’s grandmother testified that on the morning of 7 September 1984, she discovered a thick, yellowish-white liquid on the victim’s panties. After the grandmother discovered the liquid, and left a telephone message for Mrs. Gregory, the victim’s mother, the victim said “[m]y daddy put it in my butt.” The victim pointed to her crotch as she made her statement. The grandmother also testified that she found the same liquid on the victim’s panties two years prior to 7 September 1984, and that the victim said “Grandmama, my daddy pooted in my butt” on one prior occasion.
2. Dr. Phillip David Greene testified that he examined the victim on 7 September 1984. The victim told him that her daddy, Mr. Gregory, unzipped his pants, had her spread her legs, told her he wanted to get close to her and then hurt her between her legs. Dr. Greene also testified that he examined the victim’s vaginal area and found an infection. He also found inflammation “caused by some degree of irritation or manipulation beyond what you would normally expect to see in a child from routine or normal causes, and that would include simply the infection itself.” Dr. Greene stated that “the examination fully supported the story as it was related to me by the child.”
3. The State also introduced Gonorrhea culture results from September 1982 indicating that the victim and the defendant, Mr. Gregory, had Gonorrhea but Mrs. Gregory did not.

Defendant asserts that the hearsay evidence rule and the right of criminal defendants to confront the witnesses against them, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I of the North Carolina Constitution, prohibit Dr. Greene from testifying to what the victim said during the medical examination. We cannot agree.

*568 Unless hearsay testimony is made admissible by statute, it is inadmissible. G.S. 8C-1, Rule 802. Dr. Greene’s testimony, including statements identifying Mr. Gregory as the perpetrator of the sexual offenses, falls within the statutory exception to the hearsay rule created for statements made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment. G.S. 8C-1, Rule 803(4); State v. Smith, 315 N.C. 76, 337 S.E. 2d 833 (1985). Dr. Greene not only needed to know who the perpetrator was in order to plan for the psychological treatment of the victim, but also to comply with the North Carolina child abuse reporting and treatment statutes. G.S. 7A-543; G.S. 7A-549.

A prosecutor is prohibited by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I Section 23 of the North Carolina Constitution from introducing any hearsay evidence in a criminal trial unless two requirements are met. The prosecution must show both the necessity for using the hearsay testimony and the inherent trustworthiness of the original declaration. State v. Smith, 312 N.C. 361, 323 S.E. 2d 316 (1984); Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56, 100 S.Ct. 2531, 65 L.Ed. 2d 597 (1980).

This two part confrontation clause test is not all form and no substance. Merely classifying a statement as a hearsay exception does not automatically satisfy the requirements of Article I Section 23 or the Sixth Amendment. State v. Porter, 303 N.C. 680, 697, 281 S.E. 2d 377, 388 (1981). The commentary to G.S. 8C-1, Rule 803 emphasizes this fact by noting that “[t]he exceptions are phrased in terms of nonapplication of the hearsay rule, rather than in positive terms of admissibility, in order to repel any implication that other possible grounds for exclusion are eliminated from consideration.” Thus, the confrontation clause test must be applied on a case by case basis.

In the present case, the trial court held the required competency hearing and found that the victim failed to meet the competency requirements set forth in G.S. 8C-1, Rule 601(b). See State v. Fearing, 315 N.C. 167, 337 S.E. 2d 551 (1985). The unavailability of the victim due to incompetency and the eviden-tiary importance of the victim’s statements adequately demonstrate the necessity prong of the two prong confrontation clause test.

*569 The second prong of the confrontation clause test is also met. A person, even a young child, making statements to a physician for the purpose of medical diagnosis and treatment has a strong motivation to be truthful. See State v. Smith, 315 N.C. 76, 337 S.E. 2d 833 (1985). This inherent indicia of trustworthiness is further supported by corroborating physiological evidence discovered by Dr. Greene during his examination. It is also clear from voir dire that the victim, although incompetent to testify, could identify her father and distinguish him from other adult males. We therefore find no error in the trial court’s ruling admitting Dr. Greene’s testimony.

Defendant next asserts that the hearsay evidence rule and the constitutional right of criminal defendants to confront the witnesses against them also prohibit the victim’s grandmother from testifying to the victim’s inculpating statements. We disagree.

In State v. Smith, 315 N.C. 76, 337 S.E. 2d 833 (1985), our Supreme Court held that a statement made by a four year old girl to her grandmother describing a sex offense, identifying the perpetrator and complaining of pain was admissible as a statement for the purposes of medical diagnosis and treatment under G.S. 8C-1, Rule 803(4). As a direct result of the statements made in Smith, the victim was taken to a hospital. In the present case, the 3V2 year old victim was discovered with panties full of pus. The victim complained that “my daddy put it in my butt.” As a direct result of these events, the victim was taken to a hospital. We find no significant distinction between the circumstances surrounding the hearsay statement in Smith and the hearsay statement in question. We therefore hold that the trial court did not err in ruling that the victim’s statements to her grandmother fit into an exception to the hearsay rule. The fact that the trial court based its ruling on G.S. 8C-1, Rule 803(2) rather than G.S. 8C-1, Rule 803(4) is irrelevant. See State v. Dawson, 278 N.C. 351, 180 S.E. 2d 140 (1971).

The trial court also allowed the victim’s grandmother to testify to a statement made by the victim three months prior to the incident in question. The trial court ruled that the victim’s statement “my daddy pooted in my butt” was an excited utterance admissible under G.S. 8C-1, Rule 803(2). We need not decide whether *570 this statement was an excited utterance or a statement for the purpose of medical diagnosis or treatment because, in the light of all the circumstances of this case, the admission of the statement is at worst non-prejudicial error. Unless the error infringes upon defendant’s constitutional rights, the defendant has the burden of showing that there was a reasonable possibility that the jury would have reached a different result if the trial judge had not committed the error. G.S. 15A-1443(a).

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Bluebook (online)
338 S.E.2d 110, 78 N.C. App. 565, 1985 N.C. App. LEXIS 4330, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gregory-ncctapp-1985.