Court Opinion

ID: 9540919
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:20:51.776341+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:01:44.447101
License: Public Domain

Pope, Judge,
concurring specially.
I reluctantly agree with the conclusion reached in Division 1 of the opinion that the trial court committed reversible error in connection with the admission of the statement of the officer explaining why he brought a second investigator into the case. However, in my opinion, the reversible error was not the admission of the testimony itself but the failure of the trial court to give limiting instructions to the jury that the testimony was admitted not for the truth of the matter therein but solely to explain the officer’s conduct of the investigation.
“The testimony that a witness received certain information upon which he acted is admissible not as independent evidence to establish the truth of such information, but as an inducement and explanation by the witness, that acting on such information, he discovered other facts connecting the accused with the crime in question. [Cit.] Hearsay testimony may be admitted for the purpose of explaining conduct. [Cit.] When offered and admitted for the purpose of explaining conduct and to ascertain motives, evidence which is otherwise hearsay becomes original evidence for that purpose. [Cits.]” Burrell v. State, 140 Ga. App. 900, 902 (232 SE2d 172) (1977). I believe that the officer’s statement about what the informant told him would fit within this exception. Furthermore, I believe that this would be relevant to the officer’s credibility, and thus to the issue at trial. Therefore, I believe the statement would be admissible under the rule set out in Teague v. State, 252 Ga. 534 (1) (314 SE2d 910) (1984). I do not believe it was the intent of the Supreme Court in Teague to simply read OCGA § 24-3-2 out of the law and to virtually ban the admission of testimony to explain conduct; rather, the aim was to circumscribe a trend toward indiscriminate use of this Code section to cover any statement made to a police officer. Therefore, in order to maintain a balance between the spirit of the rule in Teague and the exception to the hearsay rule embodied in the statute, it is imperative that the trial court give limiting instructions to the jury that the testimony is *137to be received not for the truth of the matter stated, but solely to explain conduct, and that such instructions be given to the jury at the time the testimony is offered even if no request for such limiting instructions is made. The trial court in the instant case gave no such limiting instructions at the time the testimony was offered. Because of the lack of limiting instructions, I cannot say with any certainty what effect such testimony would have had upon the jury’s verdict; therefore, I most reluctantly concur that the judgment must be reversed.
Decided February 28, 1985
Rehearing denied March 25, 1985
Fred A. Gilbert, for appellant.
Bryant Huff, District Attorney, Phil Wiley, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.