Opinion ID: 2218934
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Nature of Statement

Text: One of these exceptions, commonly referred to as the excited utterance exception, excludes from the operation of the hearsay rule statements relating to a startling event or condition made while the declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by the event or condition. Neb.Rev.Stat. § 27-803(1) (Reissue 1989); State v. Smith, 241 Neb. 311, 488 N.W.2d 33 (1992); State v. Boppre, 234 Neb. 922, 453 N.W.2d 406 (1990). The underlying theory of this exception is that circumstances may produce a condition of excitement which temporarily stills the capacity of reflection and produces utterances free of conscious fabrication. In re Interest of D.P.Y. and J.L.Y., 239 Neb. 647, 477 N.W.2d 573 (1991); State v. Plant, 236 Neb. 317, 461 N.W.2d 253 (1990); In re Interest of R.A. and V.A., 225 Neb. 157, 403 N.W.2d 357 (1987), quoting 4 Jack B. Weinstein & Margaret A. Berger, Weinstein's Evidence 803-33 (1992). For a statement to qualify as an excited utterance, the following criteria must be established: (1) There must have been a startling event, (2) the statement must relate to the event, and (3) the statement must have been made by the declarant while under the stress of the event.... The key requirement is spontaneity, which `requires a showing the statements were made without time for conscious reflection.' State v. Smith, 241 Neb. at 316-17, 488 N.W.2d at 37, quoting In re Interest of D.P.Y. and J.L.Y., supra . We have written in the past that the determination as to the admissibility of an excited utterance generally rests within the discretion of the trial court and that the trial court's ruling will not be disturbed on appeal absent an abuse of that discretion. See, e.g., In re Interest of R.A. and V.A., supra ; State v. Lee, 216 Neb. 63, 341 N.W.2d 600 (1983). That statement appears to be an outgrowth of the regrettably overly broad and recently rejected expression that the admission or exclusion of evidence is a matter left largely to the discretion of the trial court. We have declared that in proceedings where the statutes embodying the rules of evidence apply, the admission of evidence is controlled by rule and not by judicial discretion, except where judicial discretion is a factor involved in assessing admissibility. State v. Timmerman, 240 Neb. 74, 480 N.W.2d 411 (1992); State v. Schwartz, 239 Neb. 84, 474 N.W.2d 461 (1991); State v. Messersmith, 238 Neb. 924, 473 N.W.2d 83 (1991). Thus, language in cases such as In re Interest of R.A. and V.A., supra , and State v. Lee, supra , which suggests that the admission of an excited utterance is left to the discretion of the trial court rather than being controlled by § 27-803(1), is overruled. Having cleared up the scope of our review on this issue, we turn our attention to the record. As summarized earlier, it establishes that Jacob's visit to the Etherton house was a startling event and that Hopper's statements related to that event. The visit frightened Hopper enough to induce her to secure all of the doors and windows in the house after Jacob's departure. Moreover, Hopper called Etherton and Jacob's mother to tell them what had happened. Thus, the record conclusively demonstrates that Hopper was distressed by Jacob's visit and that her statement to her supervisor was directly related to this startling event. However, it is argued that the statements fail to meet the third prong of the excited utterance testthe contemporaneous requirement. It is asserted that the statement lacked the element of spontaneity necessary to qualify as an excited utterance, for Hopper had ample opportunity to reflect upon the event before communicating it to her supervisor. Therefore, the crucial issue is whether Hopper's statement was made while she was still under the stress of Jacob's visit. See, State v. Plant, supra ; State v. Red Feather, 205 Neb. 734, 289 N.W.2d 768 (1980). The record is unclear as to the exact time of Jacob's exchange with Hopper at Etherton's house, only revealing that it occurred sometime in the morning, i.e., presumably anytime before 12 noon. Upon arriving at work at approximately 1 p.m. on August 1, 1989, her sales work not requiring her to keep regular hours, she stood impatiently outside her supervisor's office waiting to speak with him. She appeared flushed, very fidgety, and visibly upset. The supervisor testified that he had never seen Hopper as agitated and angry as she was on August 1. As this court stated in State v. Plant, 236 Neb. at 329, 461 N.W.2d at 264, [A] declarant's nervous state is relevant to the issue of whether the statement was made by the declarant while under the stress of the event. Wigmore notes that `[t]he true test in spontaneous exclamations is not when the exclamation was made, but whether under all the circumstances of the particular exclamation the speaker may be considered as speaking under the stress of nervous excitement and shock produced by the act in issue....' 6 John H. Wigmore, Evidence in Trials at Common Law § 1745 at 193 (James H. Chadbourn rev. 1976). Statements need not be made contemporaneously with the exciting cause but may be subsequent to it, provided there has not been time for the exciting influence to lose its sway and to be dissipated. Id. § 1750 at 203. In State v. Plant, supra , we held that a child's statements 2 days after the stressful event were admissible as excited utterances. In State v. Red Feather, supra , wherein the defendant was convicted of first degree sexual assault, we held that statements made by the 7-year-old victim to her treating physician approximately 1 hour after the assault were admissible. See, also, Starnes v. State, 148 Neb. 888, 29 N.W.2d 795 (1947) (rape victim's complaints 3 to 4 hours after the offense held admissible as part of the res gestae). By way of contrast, in State v. Smith, 241 Neb. 311, 488 N.W.2d 33 (1992), we held the statements of a sexual assault victim made after she had had time to record the event in her diary did not qualify as an excited utterance, as there had been ample time for the victim to consciously reflect on the event. Likewise, a statement made 2 hours after an alleged rape was, in State v. Castor, 193 Neb. 86, 225 N.W.2d 420 (1975), held not to be spontaneous and therefore not part of the res gestae. However, the Castor opinion sheds little light on the degree of stress the declarant was under at the time she made the statement. In Markel v. Glassmeyer, 132 Neb. 716, 273 N.W. 33 (1937), we held it to be reversible error to admit into evidence the plaintiff's testimony as to his wife's statement that she had been assaulted. The statement came some hours after the assault and miles from the situs of the assault. Id. at 719, 273 N.W. at 35. The Markel opinion is silent as to whether the declarant had any observable manifestations of stress from the assault. The pre-evidence-code case of Callahan v. Prewitt, 141 Neb. 243, 3 N.W.2d 435 (1942), held that a statement made 1 hour after an automobile accident was inadmissible as an excited utterance. The opinion notes that the statements were made after [the defendant] had had time to think the matter all over, and to anticipate a possible lawsuit, and certainly he realized the position he was in.... Id. at 251, 3 N.W.2d at 438. These cases set the outer boundary of the excited utterance rule and further emphasize the point that the analysis centers on the facts unique to each particular case. Here it is clear that Hopper exhibited observable manifestations that she made the statement while under the stress of excitement caused by Jacob's visit. The statement was thus an excited utterance.