Opinion ID: 1057626
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Whether the Statement Is Hearsay

Text: Up to this point in our post- Crawford jurisprudence, we have dealt with statements that were undisputed hearsay. The present case is different, however, because the trial court ruled that the written tag number was not hearsay, though the Court of Criminal Appeals disagreed. As Crawford noted parenthetically, the Confrontation Clause does not bar the use of testimonial statements for purposes other than establishing the truth of the matter asserted. 541 U.S. at 59 n. 9, 124 S.Ct. 1354 (citing Tennessee v. Street, 471 U.S. 409, 414, 105 S.Ct. 2078, 85 L.Ed.2d 425 (1985)); see also Davis, 547 U.S. at 824, 126 S.Ct. 2266 (confirming that the Confrontation Clause applied only in the testimonial context in Supreme Court cases decided [w]ell into the 20th century). Accordingly, since Crawford , federal and state courts alike have found no Confrontation Clause violation where the out-of-court statementwhether testimonial or notwas admitted for some purpose other than the truth of the matter asserted. See, e.g., United States v. Warman, 578 F.3d 320, 346 (6th Cir.2009); United States v. Jiminez, 564 F.3d 1280, 1286-87 (11th Cir. 2009); State v. McGee, 284 S.W.3d 690, 701-02 (Mo.Ct.App.2009); Del Carmen Hernandez v. State, 273 S.W.3d 685, 688-89 (Tex.Crim.App.2008). Therefore, in deciding this case, before we address whether the written tag number is testimonial, we must first satisfy ourselves that the statement is hearsay and thus potentially eligible for Confrontation Clause protection. See United States v. Mendez, 514 F.3d 1035, 1043 (10th Cir.2008). This point was contested in the trial court and on the initial appeal. The State persuaded the trial court that the written tag number was not hearsay and argued the same before the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the State's argument and held that the trial court violated the rule against hearsay when it allowed the written tag number into evidence. On brief and at oral argument before this Court, the State has reversed its prior position and now concedes that the statement was hearsay. We accept the State's concession. See Barron v. State Dep't of Human Servs., 184 S.W.3d 219, 223 (Tenn.2006) (stating that court is not bound to accept party's concession and may independently analyze the conceded issue). `Hearsay' is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Tenn. R. Evid. 801(c). A written assertion counts as a statement. Id. 801(a). In this case, Polson told the contractor standing nearby that she had been robbed and asked the contractor to observe the tag number of the vehicle driven by the man whom she believed had just left the Yorkshire Cleaners. The contractor, who was closer to the vehicle than she was, did so. The contractor then came inside the business and wrote down the tag number for Polson. Accordingly, this written statement asserts that the tag number belonged to the white minivan that the contractor observed leaving the strip mall parking lot. Sergeant Williams testified that Polson provided a tag number for the vehicle she said belonged to the robber and that he included the tag number in his offense report. Officer Quinn then testified that he saw the tag number in the offense report, researched that number, and discovered that it was registered to a vehicle in Defendant's name. Based on this testimony, we conclude that the State introduced the contractor's written statement for its truth, that is, the tag number belonged to the white minivan in which the man who had robbed the Yorkshire Cleaners left the scene. Since it was made out of court by a declarant not available for cross-examination, it is hearsay.