TN Court of Criminal Appeals Finds Video Must Be Reviewed by Trial Court

by Lee Davis

• State of Tennessee v. Barry D. McCoy

The State of Tennessee appealed a lower court’s ruling denying their request to admit evidence of a video-recorded interview of a minor victim. The Court of Criminal Appeals held that the lower court made a mistake by reaching the constitutional question before it was ripe for review and the ruling was vacated and remanded for reconsideration. 

Barry D. McCoy was charged with seven counts of rape of a child and submitted to a bench trial. The state moved to introduce a video interview of the victim as evidence. McCoy objected and the lower court ruled that it would not be admitted on three grounds: 1) the video was hearsay and was not covered by any exception; 2) admission of the video would violate McCoy’s right to confront a witness against him; and 3) the code at issue in the case, T.C.A Section 24-7-123, was unconstitutional as legislative overreach into judicial authority. The court believed that by enacting such a statute the legislature had violated the separation of powers doctrine by engaging in what is clearly a judicial function.

The Court of Criminal Appeals says that lower court jumped ahead of itself. The court should not have ruled on the constitutionality of the statute without first having reviewed the video recording to determine whether it would actually qualify for admission under the terms of the statute. The court could not know then if the statute was applicable to the case. If it didn’t apply,  then the constitutionality of the statute is moot. Because the trial court did not determine the statute’s applicability to the video in this case, the Court found that the constitutional challenge was not yet ripe for review and the lower court’s ruling was vacated. 

To read the full opinion, click here.

Earlier:

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Says that Post-Conviction Petitions Must Contain Specific Facts, Defendants Can’t Simply Check Boxes

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Affirms Revocation of Probation for Weapons Possession

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals: DUI Dismissed After Lost Video of Traffic Stop

In State v. Angela Merriman, the State appealed a trial court's dismissal of a DUI and two other counts against Angela Merriman. Merriman was charged with DUI, felony reckless endangerment and reckless driving. The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals agreed that dismissal of the charges was proper based on the state's losing the video of her arrest and roadside conversation with police.

The case began in early 2011 when the defendant was arrested and charged with DUI. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment due to the State’s failure to produce video evidence of the stop leading to her arrest.

The arresting officer stated that the video was simply lost.  Of particular concern here is that the video is the best evidence for both the prosecution and the defense.  It either inculpates guilt or exonerates Ms. Merriman.  For it to be lost is negligence by the police or state and the court recognized the importance of that issue.

The trial court held an evidentiary hearing and ultimately ruled that the State’s failure to preserve the video of the road side encounter of Merriman and the police violated her right to a fair trial. The court dismissed all three charges against her. The State appealed and argued that the trial court wrongly dismissed this DUI case. 

In a case of misplaced or missing evidence a court in Tennessee must weight three factors: 1) the degree of negligence involved; 2) the significance of the destroyed evidence; and 3) the sufficiency of the other evidence used at trial to support the conviction. If after weighing these factors the court believes that a trial without the lost evidence would be fundamentally unfair, then the trial court may dismiss the charges.

The Court of Criminal Appeals applied an “abuse of discretion standard” which means that before there can be reversal, the record must show that a judge applied an incorrect legal standard or reached a decision which is against logic or reason that caused an injustice to the state.

Here, the appeals court concluded that the trial court was correct in saying that without the video evidence of the traffic stop, the case would become a “he said, she said” situation. Dismissing the charges was appropriate to ensure fundamental fairness. 

The full case can be found here.

Earlier:

Criminal Law Review: New DUI law in effect.

Criminal Law Review: What are the DUI penalties in Tennessee?