Opinion ID: 1098032
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Statement of Future Intent or Plan

Text: The victim's mother, Mattie Swanson, testified that she was talking on the phone with her son when she overheard a person come up to him and demand, Where is the girl? When the State asked Mattie Swanson what she and her son had been discussing, defense counsel objected on the basis that the conversation was hearsay. The State argued that the hearsay testimony was admissible under the exception in section 90.803(3), Florida Statutes (1995), for statements of future plans or intent. The trial court overruled the objection without giving a reason for the ruling. Mattie Swanson testified that her son said he was planning to go to the courthouse to obtain a license for his carwash business. She further testified that her son was talking to me about that car wash and getting excited and talking about his life. We find that this evidence was not admissible under section 90.803(3)(a)2, as the State asserted in the trial court. A hearsay statement of intent or plan is only admissible under the section 90.803(3) exception when offered to [p]rove or explain acts of subsequent conduct of the declarant. § 90.803(3)(a)2. In this case, the statement that Jimmie Swanson planned to go to the courthouse to obtain an occupational license was not offered to prove that he subsequently went to the courthouse. Thus, the statement was not admissible under this exception. In an alternative argument, not raised in the trial court, the State supports the admission of this testimony on the grounds that it was nonhearsay because it was not offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Although this Court has disapproved of the tactic of arguing for the first time on appeal that evidence was admissible because it was nonhearsay, see Hayes v. State, 581 So.2d 121, 124 n. 8 (Fla.1991), the trial court's ruling on an evidentiary matter will be affirmed even if the trial court ruled for the wrong reasons, as long as the evidence or an alternative theory supports the ruling. See Caso v. State, 524 So.2d 422, 424 (Fla.1988). The State is essentially arguing that this evidence merely provides background facts. We have consistently disapproved the tactic of offering hearsay statements under the guise of providing a logical sequence of events where the contents of the statement were not relevant to establish a logical sequence of events. See Conley v. State, 620 So.2d 180, 183 (Fla. 1993); State v. Baird, 572 So.2d 904, 907-08 (Fla.1990). Although the hearsay statements did not contain the type of accusatory information condemned in Conley and Baird, given the nature of the testimony, we do not agree that the testimony provided only background facts or was necessary to establish a logical sequence. If the statements about the victim's future plans were only background facts, they had very little probative value. On the other hand, the testimony could have evoked sympathy in the minds of the jurors, thus running a risk that the prejudicial effect would outweigh any marginal probative value. We conclude that although the trial court erred in overruling defense hearsay objections, the error was harmless. These statements were brief, and the prosecutor did not refer to them in later arguments. Based on our review of all the evidence in this case and the nature of the testimony erroneously admitted, we conclude that there is no reasonable possibility that the admission of these statements contributed to the guilty verdict. See State v. DiGuilio, 491 So.2d 1129, 1135 (Fla.1986).