Opinion ID: 1720086
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: On the merits outside M.R.E. 412, is there justification for striking Jackie Davis and Johnny Martone's testimony?

Text: As stated above, the trial court struck the testimony of Jackie Davis and Johnny Martone because neither could testify precisely as to what day this incident occurred, and Jackie Davis' inconsistencies in her story made her testimony speculative. Neither M.R.E. 412 nor Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-68 discuss the exclusion of evidence merely because it is speculative, or the witness has an inability to give the calendar date of the incident. However, since both Johnny Martone and Jackie Martone are children, the trial court does have the ability to exclude their testimony as incompetent, under an abuse of discretion standard. Mohr v. State, 584 So.2d 426, 431 (Miss. 1991); King v. State, 374 So.2d 808, 812 (Miss. 1979), cert. denied, 445 U.S. 917, 100 S.Ct. 1279, 63 L.Ed.2d 602 (1980). In King, this Court affirmed the trial court's rejection of a child witness, based upon the fact that the child could not tell the court when his birthday was. King, 374 So.2d at 812. However, other states which have reviewed cases in which the child could not remember the date of the incident, which is the question here, have stated that this problem goes to the credibility, and not the absolute competence, of the witness. People v. Gillispie, 767 P.2d 778, 781 (Colo.Ct.App. 1988); State v. Rogers, 213 Mont. 302, 692 P.2d 2, 5 (1984). Applying the principle of these cases to Johnny Martone's inability to give the date of the incident, the trial court judge abused his discretion by refusing to admit Johnny's testimony. As for Jackie Davis, her inability to testify as to the exact date of the incident similarly goes to credibility. [2] Gillispie, 767 P.2d at 781. However, the trial judge would not allow her to testify as to a person with curly hair being in the room with Jane Smith and herself, because it was speculative. It would be speculative for Jackie to testify as to whom was in the room, based upon her only identification being a boy with curly hair. [3] However, Jackie could testify that a boy with curly hair was in the room, as she obtained that information directly from her sense of touch. That testimony was not speculative. Perkins v. State, 290 So.2d 597, 599 (Miss. 1974). In conclusion, the trial court erred by not admitting Johnny Martone's testimony, and by not admitting Jackie Davis' testimony about a person with curly hair near Jane Smith in Jackie's bedroom during the time of the incident. However, the trial court was correct in not allowing Jackie to testify that the person was Chris Poole.