State of Tennessee v. Barry D. McCoy

Summary

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that Tennessee Code Annotated section 24-7-123 does not violate separation-of-powers principles and constitutes a valid legislative exception to the general rule against hearsay. The Court also concluded that a video-recorded forensic interview of a child may be admitted under the statute if its statutory requirements are satisfied and it is otherwise relevant and admissible. The trial court’s exclusion of the recording was reversed, and the case was remanded for trial.

Holdings

1. Tennessee Code Annotated section 24-7-123 does not unconstitutionally infringe on the judiciary's authority because it is a reasonable, limited evidentiary rule that supplements rather than frustrates or interferes with the courts' adjudicative function.
2. The child's video-recorded interview is hearsay but is admissible under Tennessee Code Annotated section 24-7-123 as a valid legislative exception to the general rule excluding hearsay, provided all statutory and evidentiary requirements are met.
3. Admission of a testimonial video-recorded statement under section 24-7-123 does not violate the federal or state confrontation provisions when the child authenticates the recording and appears at trial for cross-examination to defend or explain the prior statement.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Tennessee Code Annotated section 24-7-123 impermissibly intrudes on the judiciary's authority to regulate evidence and thereby violates separation-of-powers principles.
2. Whether a video-recorded forensic interview that otherwise satisfies section 24-7-123 is admissible as a legislative exception to the general rule against hearsay.
3. Whether admission of the testimonial video-recorded statement violates the defendant's rights under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution or article I, section 9 of the Tennessee Constitution when the child authenticates the recording and is available for cross-examination at trial.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded