State v. Taylor

612 N.E.2d 316, 66 Ohio St. 3d 295, 1993 Ohio LEXIS 987
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedMay 26, 1993
DocketNo. 91-2498
StatusPublished
Cited by305 cases

This text of 612 N.E.2d 316 (State v. Taylor) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio 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. Taylor, 612 N.E.2d 316, 66 Ohio St. 3d 295, 1993 Ohio LEXIS 987 (Ohio 1993).

Opinion

Wright, J.

Rayvon Taylor appeals his convictions and sentence of death. As required by R.C. 2929.05(A), we have reviewed Taylor’s thirteen propositions of law. For the reasons that follow, we affirm Taylor’s conviction on one count of aggravated murder under R.C. 2903.01(B), aggravated robbery, and kidnapping. We reverse his conviction on one count of aggravated murder under R.C. 2903.01(A). We also find the evidence insufficient to sustain Taylor’s conviction for the R.C. 2929.04(A)(7) felony murder specification attached to the indictment. Therefore we vacate his death sentence and remand the cause for resentencing on the R.C. 2903.01(B) aggravated murder conviction.

I

In his first proposition of law, Taylor contends that the trial court improperly admitted the hearsay testimony of Robert Adams. Taylor argues that the testimony is inadmissible under Evid.R. 803(2) and violates his right to confront witnesses under the Ohio and United States Constitutions.

Evid.R. 801(C) defines “hearsay” as “a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted.”

Evid.R. 802 contains the general prohibition against the admission of hearsay. It provides:

“Hearsay is not admissible except as otherwise provided by the Constitution of the United States, by the Constitution of the State of Ohio, by statute enacted by the General Assembly not in conflict with a rule of the Supreme Court of Ohio, by these rules, or by other rules prescribed by the Supreme Court of Ohio.”

[300]*300The exceptions to this general prohibition are enumerated in Evid.R. 803. Pertinent to this appeal is Evid.R. 803(2), which permits the admission of the following:

“Excited utterance. A statement relating to a startling event or condition made while the declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by the event or condition.”

The fact that this otherwise hearsay testimony is admissible is based on the notion that the excited statement maintains a high level of reliability. Professor McCormick is cited in the Staff Note to Evid.R. 803(2):

“This exception derives its guaranty of trustworthiness from the fact that declarant is under such state of emotional shock that his reflective processes have been stilled. Therefore, statements made under these circumstances are not likely to be fabricated. McCormick, § 297 (2d ed. 1972).” (Emphasis added.)

A treatise on Ohio evidence law also stresses that an excited utterance must be the product of reactive rather than reflective thinking:

“Reactive excited statements are considered more trustworthy than hearsay generally on the dual grounds that, first, the stimulus renders the declarant incapable of fabrication and, second, the impression on the declarant’s memory at the time of the statement is still fresh and intense. Accordingly, Rule 803(2) assumes that excited utterances are not flawed by lapses of memory or risks of insincerity.” 1 Weissenberger’s Ohio Evidence (1992), Section 803.16. See, also, 4 Louisell & Mueller, Federal Evidence (1980) 491-492, Section 439.

In Potter v. Baker (1955), 162 Ohio St. 488, 55 O.O. 389, 124 N.E.2d 140, we established a four-part test to determine the admissibility of a “spontaneous exclamation.”1

“Such testimony as to a statement or declaration may be admissible under an exception to the hearsay rule for spontaneous exclamations where the trial judge reasonably finds (a) that there was some occurrence startling enough to produce a nervous excitement in the declarant, which was sufficient to still his reflective faculties and thereby make his statements and declarations the unreflective and sincere expression of his actual impressions and beliefs, and thus render his statement or declaration spontaneous and unreflective, (b) that [301]*301the statement or declaration, even if not strictly contemporaneous with its exciting cause, was made before there had been time for such nervous excitement to lose a domination over his reflective faculties, so that such domination continued to remain sufficient to make his statements and declarations the unreflective and sincere expression of his actual impressions and beliefs, (c) that the statement or declaration related to such startling occurrence or the circumstances of such startling occurrence, and (d) that the declarant had an opportunity to observe personally the matters asserted in his statement or declaration.” (Emphasis sic.) Id. at paragraph two of the syllabus (approved and followed in State v. Duncan [1978], 53 Ohio St.2d 215, 7 O.O.3d 380, 373 N.E.2d 1234, paragraph one of the syllabus).2

At issue in this case is the second requirement set forth in Potter that the statement be made while the declarant is still under the stress of the startling occurrence. Although the trial court conducted a voir dire of Adams prior to allowing his testimony to be presented to the jury, the court did not analyze the testimony under the Potter four-part test nor state specific reasons why it found the statements admissible. The court of appeals felt that the startling occurrence was McKissick’s discovery of Taylor searching his pants, his fear of attack by Taylor, and the threat by Taylor. The court concluded, that the event “put [McKissick] in a state of nervous excitement. From the record evidence, moreover, this nervous excitement continued to dominate McKissick as he relayed the events to Adams.” We find this conclusion to be without evidentiary support.

According to Adams, McKissick made statements about Taylor either to Adams or in his presence at three different times on March 12. Each of these occasions must be analyzed separately to determine whether Adams’s testimony concerning McKissick’s statements are admissible under Evid.R. 803(2).

Adams testified that it was his practice to arrive at a customer’s home by 8:00 a.m. He worked for Viola Thomas for two days, Thursday, May 11, and Friday, May 12. On May 12, the day he spoke to McKissick, Taylor answered the door and let Adams in. Taylor then went to sleep on the couch. McKissick and Thomas were also there when Adams arrived. Thomas apparently left for work shortly after Adams arrived.

During the morning McKissick first spoke to Adams concerning Taylor. Adams testified that their conversation went as follows:

[302]*302“Mr. McKissick told me that that night he had spent the night there and Rayvon came into the room where they were and tried to get his pants, so he was awoke, so he asked Rayvon what was he doing with his pants. Rayvon told me he was looking for a cigarette and he said you know I don’t smoke cigarettes. I smoke cigars. He said what are you doing with my pants, and Mr. McKissick told me he keeps 2 [sic] or $300 on him, so he was trying to get his money, so Rayvon was going to do something to help then, but his grandmother stopped him and Mr. McKissick said that Rayvon told him that he was going to kill him.”

Later in the day McKissick ran an errand for Adams. After his return he repeated his statements about Taylor to Adams. Adams testified:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
612 N.E.2d 316, 66 Ohio St. 3d 295, 1993 Ohio LEXIS 987, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-taylor-ohio-1993.