Opinion ID: 1551205
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether the Complainant's Statements to Gomes and Thornton Were Spontaneous Utterances

Text: The defendant first claims that the trial court improperly admitted the statements to Thornton and Gomes as spontaneous utterances under § 8-3 (2) of the Connecticut Code of Evidence. Specifically, the defendant notes that the complainant made her statements to Thornton and Gomes two and one-half to three hours after she initially had arrived home from the sorority meeting to find the defendant in her garage, and contends that lapse of time and the fact that the complainant was able to drive home created an opportunity for fabrication that rendered these statements inadmissible as spontaneous utterances. The state argues in response that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in determining that the statements were admissible because less than thirty minutes had passed since she had escaped from the defendant, and that both the telephone call tape recording and the witnesses' testimony demonstrated that those statements were made while she was still extremely emotional and fearful. We agree with the state. An out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted is hearsay and is generally inadmissible unless an exception to the general rule applies. (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Wargo, 255 Conn. 113, 127, 763 A.2d 1 (2000). Section 8-3 of the Connecticut Code of Evidence provides that certain statements are not excluded by the hearsay rule, even though the declarant is available as a witness. . . . A spontaneous utterance is defined as [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. Conn. Code Evid. § 8-3 (2). Furthermore, the commentary to § 8-3 (2) provides: The hearsay exception for spontaneous utterances is well established. . . . Although Section 8-3 (2) states the exception in terms different from that of the case law on which the exception is based . . . the rule assumes incorporation of the case law principles underlying the exception. The event or condition must be sufficiently startling, so `as to produce nervous excitement in the declarant and render [the declarant's] utterances spontaneous and unreflective.'  (Citations omitted.) The excited utterance exception is well established. Hearsay statements, otherwise inadmissible, may be admitted into evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted therein when (1) the declaration follows a startling occurrence, (2) the declaration refers to that occurrence, (3) the declarant observed the occurrence, and (4) the declaration is made under circumstances that negate the opportunity for deliberation and fabrication by the declarant. . . . The requirement that a spontaneous utterance be made under such circumstances as to [negate] the opportunity for deliberation and fabrication by the declarant . . . does not preclude the admission of statements made after a startling occurrence as long as the statement is made under the stress of that occurrence. . . . While [a] short time between the incident and the statement is important, it is not dispositive. . . . Whether an utterance is spontaneous and made under circumstances that would preclude contrivance and misrepresentation is a preliminary question of fact to be decided by the trial judge. . . . The trial court has broad discretion in making that factual determination, which will not be disturbed on appeal absent an unreasonable exercise of discretion. . . . Furthermore, although the time period between the occurrence and the utterance is important, it is not dispositive. [12] (Citations omitted; emphasis added; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Kelly, 256 Conn. 23, 41-42, 770 A.2d 908 (2001); id., 41 (sexual assault victim's statement made to sister while victim was hysterical and in fetal position, fifteen minutes after arriving home from altercation, properly admitted as spontaneous utterance). Thus, we follow the rule embraced by the majority of the jurisdictions that have addressed the issue of the effect of the time interval between the startling occurrence and the making of the spontaneous utterance, and conclude that there is no identifiable discrete time interval within which an utterance becomes spontaneous; [e]ach case must be decided on its particular circumstances. State v. Stange, 212 Conn. 612, 618, 563 A.2d 681 (1989); id., 618-20 (collecting cases reflecting acceptable time lapses ranging from fifteen minutes to six and one-half hours and upholding victim's statement made fifteen to thirty minutes after shooting as victim was witnessed in agitated and painful state); see also State v. Arluk, 75 Conn. App. 181, 188-90, 815 A.2d 694 (2003) (thirty minutes not excessive time between family fight and child blurting out to police officer that he saw daddy hit his mommy when child was still under stress of having witnessed that altercation [internal quotation marks omitted]); cf. State v. Gregory C., 94 Conn. App. 759, 771-72, 893 A.2d 912 (2006) (Statements of the victim made to a police officer were not spontaneous utterances when more than fifteen hours had passed between the time of the alleged sexual assault and the victim's statement to [an investigating police officer]. Further, the victim discussed her alleged assault at length with [her friend] prior to giving her statement. The victim thus had considerable time and opportunity to collect her thoughts and reflect on what had occurred the night before.); State v. McNair, 54 Conn. App. 807, 813, 738 A.2d 689 (noting that when significant time lapse was allowed for spontaneous utterance, the declarant had undergone drastic personal trauma and remained in a severe emotional state from the time of the event until the time of the statement), cert. denied, 251 Conn. 913, 739 A.2d 1249 (1999). Moreover, that a statement is made in response to a question does not preclude its admission as a spontaneous utterance. See State v. Stange, supra, 619. We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its broad discretion in determining that the complainant's statements to Thornton and Gomes were admissible as spontaneous utterances pursuant to § 8-3 (2) of the Connecticut Code of Evidence. As the Appellate Court has recognized, the application of the exception entails a uniquely fact-bound inquiry. The overarching consideration is whether the declarant made the statement before he or she had the opportunity to undertake a reasoned reflection of the event described therein. State v. Westberry, 68 Conn. App. 622, 628, 792 A.2d 154, cert. denied, 260 Conn. 923, 797 A.2d 519 (2002). In the present case, it is undisputed that the complainant's statements followed a startling occurrence, namely, her altercation with the defendant, and that the complainant both observed and referred to that occurrence. With respect to the fourth element, as the defendant himself states, [t]here can be no doubt that the trial court found correctly that [the complainant] sounded highly emotional when she spoke with [Gomes], [Thornton] and [Knapp]. [13] Moreover, all of the statements at issue were made within one-half hour of the complainant having arrived home from her multihour altercation with the defendant, which our cases indicate is not an excessive time lapse for purposes of avoiding contrivance or fabrication by an alleged victim. See, e.g., State v. Stange, supra, 212 Conn. 618-20; cf. State v. McNair, supra, 54 Conn. App. 813 (Trial court improperly admitted a statement made after a one-half hour time lapse when the declarant was not the actual or intended victim, or even a close bystander. The witness viewed the incident from the safety of her apartment. The thirty minute intervening period gave the witness ample time to collect her thoughts before making the statements at issue. [Internal quotation marks omitted.]). There also is no evidence that the complainant had the opportunity to speak to anyone else prior to making the statements, which would indicate the opportunity to reflect or contrive a story. See State v. Gregory C., supra, 94 Conn. App. 771-72. The conclusion that evidence is admissible under a hearsay exception does not preclude the possibility, in a criminal trial, that the same evidence will be inadmissible under the confrontation clause of the sixth amendment. The confrontation clause limits the state's use of hearsay evidence against a criminal defendant at trial. State v. Smith, 275 Conn. 205, 232, 881 A.2d 160 (2005). Accordingly, we now turn to the constitutional issues presented by this case concerning the admissibility of the complainant's statements. B