Opinion ID: 2343208
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: issue 2statements of nassia ford

Text: Next, Jones asserts that the statements Nassia Ford (Ford) made at the crime scene that identified Jones as one of the shooters (N.T., 5/3/83, at 4362-63) were inadmissible hearsay. He claims that the trial court erred in admitting them because Ford's written declaration to Detective Douglas Culbreth (Detective Culbreth) taken at the hospital about forty minutes after the shooting arguably contradicted them. Jones argues that Ford's statements, made moments after the shooting, could have been colored by outside influences and do[] not contain the hallmarks of reliability that mark a contemporaneous excited utterance. (Brief of Jones at 21). A trial court's rulings on evidentiary questions are controlled by the discretion of the trial court and will not be reversed absent a clear abuse of that discretion. Commonwealth v. Cargo, 498 Pa. 5, 444 A.2d 639, 644 (1982). Pennsylvania Rule of Evidence 803(2) provides that an excited utterance is a statement that is not excluded by the hearsay rule, even if the declarant is available to testify. A statement meets the requirement of this hearsay exception if it is: A spontaneous declaration by a person whose mind has been suddenly made subject to an overpowering emotion caused by some unexpected and shocking occurrence, which that person had just participated in or closely witnessed, and made in reference to some phase of that occurrence which he perceived, and this declaration must be made so near the occurrence both in time and place as to exclude the likelihood of its having emanated in whole or in part from his reflective faculties. Commonwealth v. Stokes, 532 Pa. 242, 615 A.2d 704, 712 (1992) (internal quotation marks omitted). There is no clearly defined limit as to the time sequence required for a statement to qualify as an excited utterance; instead, a fact-specific inquiry is made for each case to determine whether the utterance and the event are in close enough proximity. See Commonwealth v. Boczkowski, 577 Pa. 421, 846 A.2d 75, 95-96 (2004). In the case before us, seven minutes and forty seconds after being shot in the leg, and in a hysterical state, Ford told his uncle, Timothy Ford, that Jones had shot him and that Damien Jones and Buttons had been shooting. (N.T., 5/3/83, at 4359-63). Thirty-five to forty minutes after the shooting, Detective Lamont Anderson (Detective Anderson) arrived at the hospital and spoke with Ford. (N.T., 3/22/83, at 494-95). Detective Anderson asked Ford who shot him, and Ford responded that Coop and Damon was [sic] with him. (N.T., 3/25/83, at 976). At trial, Jones called Detective Culbreth who testified that, when asked what happened, Ford reported they shot me and that it was Coop and a lot of other guys. (N.T., 4/6/83, at 1766-67). We find no error on the part of the trial court. Less than ten minutes after being shot, Ford identified Jones as one of the shooters. He did so while bleeding from his gunshot wound and awaiting transport to the hospital. Approximately thirty minutes later, Ford confirmed this fact when responding to questions posed by the police officers, by stating that Jones was one of the shooters. This Court often has held similar statements admissible under the excited utterance exception to the prohibition on hearsay statements. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Douglas, 558 Pa. 412, 737 A.2d 1188, 1194-95 (1999) (upholding the admission of the victim's declaration to a police officer as an excited utterance because he identified the shooter while being transported to the hospital eleven minutes after the shooting); Commonwealth v. Penn, 497 Pa. 232, 439 A.2d 1154, 1159(Pa.), cert. denied, Penn v. Pennsylvania, 456 U.S. 980, 102 S.Ct. 2251, 72 L.Ed.2d 857 (1982). We conclude, therefore, that the statements of Ford were admitted properly pursuant to the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule. Because Jones cannot establish that his underlying claim has merit, he has failed to argue successfully that counsel was ineffective with regard to this claim. Further, Jones argues that Ford's statement to his uncle cannot be admitted pursuant to the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule because the statements were made in response to questioning, rather than being purely spontaneous. (Brief of Jones at 21). This argument fails. The jurisprudence of this Commonwealth makes it clear that a statement, which otherwise qualifies as an excited utterance, is not precluded from falling within the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule when made in response to questioning. See Commonwealth v. Banks, 454 Pa. 401, 311 A.2d 576, 580 (1973); Commonwealth v. Edwards, 431 Pa. 44, 244 A.2d 683, 685 (1968). Accordingly, in the instant matter, the fact that Ford identified Jones and Buttons after his uncle asked who shot him does not disqualify his statement from the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule. Relying on Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004) (holding that out-of-court statements that are testimonial are barred unless the witness is unavailable and the defendant had prior opportunity to cross-examine), Jones contends that the admission of Ford's out-of-court statement violated the confrontation clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. [15] Contrary to Jones' contention, Crawford did not abolish the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule when the declarant is unavailable. Id. at 61, 124 S.Ct. 1354 (declining to overrule White v. Illinois, 502 U.S. 346, 112 S.Ct. 736, 116 L.Ed.2d 848 (1992), which held, inter alia, that the admission at trial of a spontaneous declaration by an unavailable declarant did not violate the Confrontation Clause). Thus, the above alleged errors of the trial court in admitting the out-of-court statements of Ford lack merit. Having failed to establish the underlying merit of these issues, Jones' claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to challenge the statements of Ford must also fail. See Hall, supra. Finally, Jones argues that the trial court's admission of Ford's statements without first holding a competency hearing violated state law regarding witness competency. (Brief of Jones at 21). To begin with, it is not altogether clear that a competency hearing was required. See Commonwealth v. Pronkoskie, 477 Pa. 132, 383 A.2d 858, 861 n. 5 (1978) (suggesting, albeit in dicta, that an otherwise properly qualifying excited utterance is not rendered inadmissible by a ruling that the declarant is incompetent to testify); Penn, supra (upholding an out-of-court excited utterance of a child eyewitness without discussing the relevance of his age). Even assuming a hearing was required, however, Jones has failed to show that the admission of the statement of this one eyewitness prejudiced him. Given that, at trial, the Commonwealth produced testimony from at least six eyewitnesses who saw Jones commit the crime, Jones' failure to show prejudice is not surprising.