Court Opinion

ID: 9407491
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-07-07 16:06:25.890806+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:39.647734
License: Public Domain

STATE       OF    LOUISIANA                                                                           NO.     2023       KW     0567

VERSUS

ANTERIO          ROBINSON                                                                                JULY           7,     2023

In    Re:           State         of     Louisiana,                applying                for     supervisory                  writs,

                    19th       Judicial              District             Court,            Parish            of    East           Baton

                    Rouge,         No.    DC - 22- 04143.

BEFORE:             THERIOT,           WOLFE,         AND     GREENE,           JJ.

        WRIT        GRANTED.             The        district            court         abused          its      discretion              in

                 the     first           four        minutes            and     seven            seconds           of        the     body
finding
camera        footage          depicting              the        victim          and        her         interactions                 with

the     police         to    be     inadmissible                 as      violative               of     the    Confrontation

Clause.          We find that the statements made by the victim/ declarant
are     nontestimonial.                   As        evidenced            from     the       footage,               there        was    an

                                         situation              and        the        primary               purpose            of     the
ongoing           emergency
officer' s questioning was related to the victim' s well- being and
to      assess          the         need            for       emergency                medical                services.               The

questioning            was      informal,             occurred             in    the        immediate              aftermath           of
                                       took                              the     scene           of      the       crime.             See
the     battery,             and                    place       at

Davis       v.     Washington,                547     U. S.       813,         126     S. Ct.         2266,         165        L. Ed. 2d
224 (       2006) ;     Michigan               v.    Bryant,             562     U.   S.     344,           131     S. Ct.          1143,

179     L. Ed. 2d       93 (       2011) .          Additionally,                the        spontaneous                 statements

                       the        victim/ declarant                                               to          the            officer'   s
made         by                                                           pursuant

questioning              are        admissible                under            the         excited            utterance               and

present          sense       impression exceptions                            to the         hearsay           rule.           See    La.

Code        Evid.      arts.        803 (       1) & (          2) ;     State         v.    Lee,           2022- 01314 (             La.

11/ 16/ 22),           349     So. 3d         988,       989- 90 (        per     curiam) ;              State          v.     Jordan,

2021- 0585 (           La.        App.         4th       Cir.          12/ 21/ 21),          334         So. 3d          417,        writ

denied,           2022- 00141 (           La.        3/ 2/ 22)          333     So. 3d           834.       Therefore,               this

matter        is    remanded             to    the     district            court           for     further          proceedings
consistent with this                      ruling.

                                                                 MRT
                                                                  EW

                                                                  HG