Court Opinion

ID: 9793966
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:55:56.290948+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:09:13.192147
License: Public Domain

BOOCHEVER, Justice
(concurring).
I concur in the court’s opinion that the indictment in this case was defective requiring reversal and remand.
The principal safeguard against requiring one to stand trial as a result of an indictment improperly based on hearsay testimony should come from a proper application of the American Bar Association Standards for Criminal Justice and the commentary quoted in footnote 14 of the court’s opinion. The use of hearsay testimony has thus been narrowly limited.
*246If the stringent requirements for use of hearsay testimony had been met, I would agree with Justice Erwin that where there has been presented a sufficiently detailed account of criminal activity and the defendant’s participation in the activity, it is unnecessary that such evidence be corroborated or that the hearsay declarant’s credibility be independently established. In this case, however, no reasons have been advanced for the failure to have the witness appear in person before the grand jury and, accordingly, I would base the decision on the absence of any adequate justification for the use of hearsay testimony.