Opinion ID: 1404090
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Testimony of Craig Davis

Text: Boyle's next argument is that the trial court erred in excluding the testimony of Craig Davis, a friend of Boyle. Davis would have testified that Ms. Ivanhoe told him in a telephone conversation while she was in the hospital that her pain was getting worse and she did not know how much longer she could put up with it. Boyle overheard the conversation while in the hospital room with Ms. Ivanhoe. Boyle claimed at trial that Mr. Davis's testimony was not hearsay because it was not offered for the truth of the matter asserted, but to show its effect on him, the listener. The court excluded the testimony, holding that the importance of this conversation was that Boyle heard it and its impact upon him. The court stated that what Mr. Davis thinks he heard was not important. Because Boyle had already testified about the conversation and its impact upon him, the trial court excluded Mr. Davis's testimony. We will not reverse a ruling on the admissibility of evidence absent an abuse of discretion, as such matters are left to the sound discretion of the trial court. Bankston v. State, 361 Ark. 123, 130, 205 S.W.3d 138, 142 (2005). While we agree with Boyle that Davis's proposed testimony was not hearsay, the trial court did not indicate that it excluded the testimony on the basis of hearsay. The trial court appeared to conclude that Davis's testimony was cumulative, and that the best evidence of this conversation had already been admitted through Boyle. Therefore, even if the exclusion was error, it was harmless. See Morgan v. State, 333 Ark. 294, 971 S.W.2d 219 (1998)(holding that evidentiary error is harmless if the same or similar evidence was otherwise introduced); accord Jones v. State, 326 Ark. 61, 931 S.W.2d 83 (1996). Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to admit Mr. Davis's testimony into evidence.