Opinion ID: 2416880
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The hospital tape

Text: The video tape of the daughter's statement to the hospital social worker was admitted as within an exception to the hearsay rule. The court remarked that, as the statement was not taken as a deposition at the instance of the state, there was no requirement for notice or confrontation of the witness by the accused. It was correct to conclude that the statement was not taken as a deposition in accordance with Ark.Code Ann. § 16-44-203 (1987). It was error, however, to conclude that the tape could be admitted as an exception to the hearsay rule. As we pointed out in Cogburn v. State, 292 Ark. 564, 732 S.W.2d 807 (1987), Arkansas Rules of Evidence 803(25) provides a general exception to the hearsay rule for the statements of children under age 10 concerning sex offenses against the child witness. We held, however, that the failure to follow the provisions of § 16-44-203 was fatal to the admissibility of a video taped statement of the child witness. The accused's right of confrontation was violated, and the witness was allowed to testify twice. The state contends that Kester failed to get a specific ruling on the admissibility of the hospital tape. That is incorrect. As noted above, the court specifically stated it was admissible as an exception to the hearsay rule. Conceding that the Cogburn case is similar to this one, the state argues that the admission of the hospital tape was harmless error. In the Cogburn case, the child witness testified in person at the trial. Here, the daughter's deposition video tape was played for the jury in addition to the tape made at the hospital. She was thus allowed to testify twice. The prejudice here is thus the same as that we described in the Cogburn case. There was additional prejudice in that the daughter mentioned anal intercourse in the hospital statement but not in her deposition.