State v. McCafferty

356 N.W.2d 159, 1984 S.D. LEXIS 382
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 3, 1984
Docket14350
StatusPublished
Cited by88 cases

This text of 356 N.W.2d 159 (State v. McCafferty) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. McCafferty, 356 N.W.2d 159, 1984 S.D. LEXIS 382 (S.D. 1984).

Opinions

MORGAN, Justice.

Defendant Bruce McCafferty (McCafferty) was indicted, tried and convicted on the charge that he knowingly engaged in sexual contact with another person under fifteen years of age, in violation of SDCL 22-22-7. Upon a separate information, McCafferty was also found to be an habitu[161]*161al offender under SDCL 22-7-8 and his sentence for the principal felony was enhanced to a sentence commensurate with a Class 3 felony, the next more severe class. The trial court sentenced McCafferty to fifteen years in the South Dakota State Penitentiary with three years suspended upon completion of court-imposed conditions. McCafferty appeals and we affirm in part and remand with instructions.

This case developed when a seven-year-old daughter of the woman McCafferty was living with arrived at school with a red mark on her neck. The mark resembled what is commonly referred to as a “hickey.” When questioned by her teacher, Elizabeth Zeplin (Zeplin), the child (Shawna) responded “My daddy sucked on it.” Zep-lin mentioned the incident to another teacher, Pam Haugland (Haugland), who questioned Shawna further using two anatomically correct dolls. The matter was referred to the Department of Social Services (Department) as a suspected case of sexual abuse. The following day, Dr. Mary Carol Curran (Curran), a clinical psychologist, was summoned to the school by Department to investigate. Curran also observed Shawna play with anatomically correct dolls and exhibit knowledge which Curran considered beyond that of a normal seven-year-old. Based on the information provided by the two teachers and the psychologist, the Yankton County Grand Jury returned the indictment.

McCafferty filed several pretrial motions, including (1) a motion for a psychiatric evaluation of the complaining witness, (2) a request to depose the complaining witness, (3) a motion to exclude evidence of prior convictions, (4) a request for discovery, and (5) a motion to suppress an incriminating statement he made to the police on the grounds that it was given involuntarily. The trial judge denied all motions except the request for discovery and production. After conviction, McCafferty filed a motion for a new trial alleging error at trial by: (1) admission of allegedly hearsay testimony regarding statements Shawna made to the teachers and psychologist; (2) denial of his right of confrontation under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article VI, Section 7 of the South Dakota Constitution; (3) failure of the trial court to properly weigh the probative value of evidence of his former convictions against its prejudicial effect before admitting that evidence; and (4) failure of the trial court to grant his pretrial motion for psychiatric examination of Shawna.

We will first examine McCafferty’s claim that admission of the hearsay testimony by the teachers and the psychologist, regarding Shawna’s statements and demonstrations with the dolls, was prejudicial error. SDCL 19-16-4. The trial court apparently admitted the testimony under SDCL 19-16-5 or -6 (Rule 803(1) or (2) Federal Rules of Evidence), the res gestae or excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule. McCafferty urges that under our previous holdings in State v. Thorpe, 83 S.D. 499, 162 N.W.2d 216 (1968), and State v. Percy, 80 S.D. 1, 117 N.W.2d 99 (1962), the statements did not fall within the excited utterance or res gestae exception. We agree.

We recently noted, however, that Percy and Thorpe were decided prior to our adoption of SDCL ch. 19-16, Hearsay, in 1978. State v. Bult, 351 N.W.2d 731 (S.D.1984). The hearsay rules adopted by this court closely pattern the Federal Rules of Evidence 801 to 806 inclusive. SDCL 19-16-5 or -6 is nearly verbatim with Rule 803(1) or (2) of the federal rules respectively. Under the federal rules, many courts have relaxed the rigid time and spontaneity requirements when the declarant is a child of tender years. 7 J.JUV.L. 205 (1983). We note that, while it is not applicable in this case because of its effective date, our legislature has enacted a statutory “tender-years” rule effective July 1, 1984. SDCL 19-16-38.

While Shawna’s response to Zeplin’s question regarding the cause of the mark on her neck was both timely and somewhat spontaneous, we find no eases, nor are we cited to any, that would make the subsequent statements and demonstration with [162]*162the dolls spontaneous. The lack of spontaneity does not, however, preclude admission of the subsequent statements. This case differs greatly from most of the case authorities cited by the parties, in that McCafferty was Shawna’s father-figure1 and she was not physically injured. Most of the cases cited involve outsiders and/or violent acts such as rape or attempted rape. The statements to Haugland and Curran were properly admitted; we hold, however, that the trial court made the right decision for the wrong reason.

When we adopted the Hearsay rules in 1978, we included Federal Rule of Evidence 804(b)(6), sometimes referred to as the residual exception. SDCL 19-16-35 provides:

A statement not specifically covered by any of §§ 19-16-30 to 19-16-34, inclusive, but having equivalent circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness, is not excluded by § 19-16-4 if the declarant is unavailable as a witness and if the court determines that
(1) the statement is offered as evidence of a material fact;
(2) the statement is more probative on the point for which it is offered than any other evidence which the proponent can procure through reasonable efforts; and
(3) the general purposes of these rules and the interests of justice will best be served by admission of the statement into evidence.
However, a statement may not be admitted under this section unless the proponent of it makes known to the adverse party sufficiently in advance of the trial or hearing to provide the adverse party with a fair opportunity to prepare to meet it, his intention to offer the statement and the particulars of it, including the name and address of the declarant.

The first two elements of the rule, trustworthiness and unavailability, will be discussed in our analysis of the confrontation clause issue.

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Bluebook (online)
356 N.W.2d 159, 1984 S.D. LEXIS 382, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mccafferty-sd-1984.