Opinion ID: 2614932
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: the constitutionality of nrs 51.385 as applied

Text: The application of the standard provided in Roberts was a primary focus of Idaho v. Wright . The Wright court determined that the Constitution does not impose a fixed set of procedural prerequisites to the admission of hearsay attributable to children. Wright, 497 U.S. at 818, 110 S.Ct. at 3148. Nevertheless, the Court adverted to several non-exclusive factors that may be significant in determining the reliability of hearsay statements referable to children in child sexual abuse cases. The factors identified by the Court included: (1) spontaneity and consistency in repetition; (2) declarant's mental state; (3) use of unexpected terminology by child of a given age; and (4) absence of motive to fabricate. Disavowing mechanical tests for determining particularized guarantees of trustworthiness, the Court declared that the unifying principle is that these factors relate to whether the child declarant was particularly likely to be telling the truth when the statement was made. Wright, 497 U.S. at 822, 110 S.Ct. at 3150. Although NRS 51.385 is not the codification of a firmly rooted hearsay exception, the statute does provide a proper forum for the evaluation and determination of the trustworthiness of child hearsay outside the presence of the jury. In such a setting, reliability may be more vigorously contested and more accurately discerned. In any event, with justifiable deference to the unifying principle, our review now focuses on the facts of the instant case measured against the guidelines enunciated by the Wright court. First, the circumstances under which the child victim initially revealed the incidents upon which the criminal charges were based generate an intuitive sense of trustworthiness. During the night, the child awoke from her sleep distressed and sobbing, and sought solace from her mother. The visibly upset six-year-old, after receiving assurances from her mother, provided the details of what had been happening to her. It strains credulity to conclude, under the conditions described, that the child's mentation would conjure up the parade of horrors she related about her stepfather. Moreover, the child's outpouring to her mother reflected a natural spontaneity indicative of truth. The young victim's second recitation of Bockting's criminal behavior occurred during her interview with Detective Zinovitch in the latter's office. There, the girl's restatement of her travails was consistent with the details she had previously told to her mother. The child's third consistent description of the events came when, of her own volition, she asked for dolls, and received the anatomically correct dolls. With the dolls, she demonstrated the various positions involved in the commission of the crimes. Again, the child's explanations and demonstrations with the dolls were sufficiently spontaneous to inspire confidence in their reliability. See generally D.A.H. v. G.A.H., 371 N.W.2d 1 (Minn.Ct.App.1985) (child's statements to psychologist admitted, statements were spontaneous even with the passage of time). The girl's two verbal descriptions and the demonstrations and explanations connected with the dolls indicate consistent repetition in her out-of-court statements that adds an element of trustworthiness. See J. Myers, Child Witness Law and Practice § 5.37, at 367 (1987). Moreover, we were pleased to see that the veteran detective conducted the recorded interview with the child in a manner that was not suggestive, leading, or indicative of a predetermined resolve to produce evidence of child abuse. The language used by the victim in describing what her stepfather had done to her was consistent with that expected of a six-year-old child. During her explanations of the sexual attacks, the child used such child-like terms and descriptions as pee-pee, butt, and sucking on his pee-pee like a sucker until white bubbly stuff came out and went into her mouth. She also described and demonstrated through the use of the dolls the positions that would have been necessary for the acts to take place between a large adult male and a small female child. In explaining how the act of anal intercourse occurred, she told how she held onto the sink while Bockting was behind her and would press real hard and it hurt. The terminology used by the girl indicated a familiarity with sexual conduct not usually known by six-year-olds. [7] Further, the child's statements reflect knowledge of sexual acts that a child of six would not usually be aware of absent personal experience. Prior to describing her stepfather's conduct to her mother, the child hesitated because she was afraid Bockting would beat her butt and mommy would send daddy away. After the victim's mother confronted Bockting and told him to leave, the girl wanted to hug and kiss him. This conduct is inconsistent with the notion that the six-year-old did not like her father or that she wanted him out of the home. In fact, the child's actions reflect feelings of affection for her stepfather. There was no apparent reason or motive for the child to fabricate a story of sexual misconduct by Bockting. [I]t is virtually inconceivable that a child of this age would have either the extensive knowledge of sexual activities or the desire to lie about sexual abuse that would be required to fabricate a story such as the one told by [the child victim]. Morgan v. Foretich, 846 F.2d 941, 948 (4th Cir.1988). A careful comparison of the factors accorded significance in Idaho v. Wright with those present in the instant case causes us to conclude that: (1) sufficient spontaneity and consistent repetition existed in the child's various statements; (2) the child's mental state after a sudden awakening when she first told of her experiences was one of agitation and fear, both apparent from her statements and the fact that she was visibly shaken and crying; (3) the child's description of the incidents indicated a knowledge of sexual conduct not present in most children six years of age; (4) the child-like terminology used by the victim was reflective of candor rather than coaching; and (5) the child's display of affection for Bockting as he was preparing to leave was indicative of love rather than hate. Neither the foregoing factors nor any other aspect of the record evidence provides insights into a motive for dissembling on the part of the child. We therefore conclude that the district court was justified in finding that the child's hearsay statements were reliable and admissible under the criteria specified in NRS 51.385 and Idaho v. Wright . [8] In viewing the totality of the circumstances surrounding the child's out-of-court statements, as defined in Wright, we conclude that the district court did not err in finding sufficient particularized guarantees of trustworthiness to admit the proffered statements. We therefore hold that NRS 51.385 is constitutional as applied to Bockting and his rights under the Confrontation Clause. For the reasons stated above, we conclude that Bockting was fairly tried and convicted. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of conviction entered by the district court. [9]