Opinion ID: 2598598
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Exclusion of Witness Statement

Text: [¶ 35] Approximately two and one-half hours after the shooting events of February 7, 2001, Steven Freel, a police officer, interviewed Joleen Summers, one of the passengers in Mr. Urbigkit's vehicle during the shooting, at the Natrona County Detention Center. During that interview, Officer Freel asked Ms. Summers what happened that morning. Ms. Summers responded as follows: I was in the car and the next thing I know there's cars all around and there's a shot, we start getting shot at and it's there no, somebody says, get the hell out and I fell out of the car and I started walking and the cops said, put your hands up. An investigator put me in handcuffs. At trial, defense counsel sought to question Officer Freel about Ms. Summer's statement. The state objected to testimony concerning Ms. Summer's statement on hearsay grounds. Defense counsel responded that the statement fell within the excited utterance and the statement against interest exceptions to the hearsay rule. The trial court sustained the objection, precluding defense counsel from introducing the statement or eliciting testimony about it. [¶ 36] The trial court's decisions with respect to the admissibility of evidence are entitled to considerable deference, and, as long as there exists a legitimate basis for the trial court's ruling, we will not reverse that ruling on appeal. Lawson v. State, 994 P.2d 943, 947 (Wyo.2000). [¶ 37] W.R.E. 803(2) provides: The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule, even though the declarant is available as a witness: .... (2) Excited Utterance. A statement relating to a startling event or condition made while the declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by the event or condition. Citing this provision, Mr. Urbigkit argues the statement was admissible because, only a short time before, Ms. Summers had been in the midst of a gun battle, and Officer Freel testified she was nervous and excited when she made the statement. Citing James v. State, 888 P.2d 200, 206 (Wyo.1994), Mr. Urbigkit further argues that neither the lapse of approximately two and one-half hours between the gun battle and the utterance nor the fact that Ms. Summers made the statement in response to the question what happened this morning was dispositive of whether the exception in W.R.E. 803(2) applied. [¶ 38] Mr. Urbigkit's citations to James are correct as far as they go. James sets out five factors to be considered in determining whether the excited utterance exception applies, which include the nature of the startling event, the declarant's physical manifestations of excitement, the declarant's age, the lapse of time between the event and the statement, and whether the statement was made in response to an inquiry. James also held, as Mr. Urbigkit claims, that lapse of time and the fact a statement is made in response to an inquiry do not necessarily mean a statement is not an excited utterance. However, as was said in James, the ultimate inquiry is whether the declarant's condition at the time was such that the statement was spontaneous, excited, or impulsive and the result of stress from the events witnessed rather than the product of reflection and deliberation. 888 P.2d at 207. On this basis, we upheld the admission of the statements at issue in James because there was ample evidence the declarant was hysterical at the time she made them fifteen to twenty minutes after observing the events. [¶ 39] Rulings as to the admissibility of evidence are within the sound discretion of the trial court, and we will not disturb those rulings absent a clear abuse of that discretion. Id. at 206. We will not find an abuse of discretion as long as a legitimate basis exists for a ruling. Dike v. State, 990 P.2d 1012, 1020-21 (Wyo.1999). It is only when the trial court acted in a manner exceeding the bounds of reason that we find an abuse of discretion. Id. at 1021. Applying this standard, we are unable to say the trial court abused its discretion in precluding the statement of Ms. Summers. While the event itself was no doubt startling, the record establishes that the statement was made by an adult in response to a police inquiry at the detention center approximately two and one-half hours after the event. In that sense, it is not clear it was a spontaneous utterance in response to the event itself. By itself, Officer Freel's testimony that Ms. Summers seemed excited or nervous at the time is not enough to bring the statement within W.R.E. 803(2). [¶ 40] Mr. Urbigkit also contends the statement of Ms. Summers was admissible as a statement against interest under W.R.E. 804(b)(3), which provides: (b) Hearsay Exceptions. The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule if the declarant is unavailable as a witness: .... (3) Statement Against Interest. A statement which was at the time of its making so far contrary to the declarant's pecuniary or proprietary interest, or so far tended to subject him to civil or criminal liability, or to render invalid a claim by him against another, that a reasonable man in his position would not have made the statement unless he believed it to be true. A statement tending to expose the declarant to criminal liability and offered to exculpate the accused is not admissible unless corroborating circumstances clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the statement. Defense counsel argued at trial that the statement get the hell out of the car was against Ms. Summers' interest because, at the time she made the statement, she was under arrest and subject to potential penalties for interfering with law enforcement. Like the trial court, we fail to see how the words get the hell out of the car is a statement against interest. We find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in precluding the statement.