Herrera v. State
288 Ga. 231
| Ga. | 2010Background
- Herrera was convicted of malice murder, felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer, and fleeing to elude arrest for the shooting death of Osvaldo Navarro.
- The victim and Herrera cohabited and quarreled throughout the day; Herrera later retrieved a pistol and shot the victim, then fled the scene.
- Police located the victim severely injured; he died; autopsy showed two bullets in the back and chest.
- Herrera was also admitted to the hospital after a crash; a urine sample tested positive for amphetamine, methamphetamine, and cocaine metabolites.
- Evidence included a knife recovered from the victim, with a small blood trace, and hospital records and lab results linked to Herrera’s drug use; the State sought admission of various items over Herrera’s objections.
- The trial court admitted hospital drug-test results and related testimony; Herrera challenged suppression, chain of custody, and unauthenticated lab reports.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Probable cause for hospital-records search | Herrera | Herrera | Probable cause exists; omissions do not defeat probable cause. |
| Sufficiency of evidence for malice murder | State | Herrera | Evidence sufficient for a rational juror to convict of malice murder, obstruction, and fleeing. |
| Chain of custody of urine sample | State | Herrera | Chain of custody established; admissible. |
| Admission and confrontation of lab report | State | Herrera | Harmless error; corroborating toxicology testimony supports admission. |
| Admission of victim’s statements under necessity hearsay exception | State | Herrera | Statements trustworthy under totality of circumstances; admissible. |
| Juror bias and for-cause excusal | State | Herrera | Trial court acted within discretion; no abuse in not excusing fact-pattern juror. |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (sufficiency standard for criminal evidence)
- Holmes v. State, 273 Ga. 644 (Ga. 2001) (jury's determination on self-defense; standard of review)
- Smith v. State, 281 Ga. 185 (Ga. 2006) (probability-of-record evidence standard on suppression)
- Carter v. State, 283 Ga. 76 (Ga. 2008) (omissions may be considered in probable-cause analysis)
- Maldonado v. State, 268 Ga.App. 691 (Ga. Ct. App. 2004) (laboratory chain of custody as single link)
- Johnson v. State, 271 Ga. 375 (Ga. 1999) (blood sample admissibility with routine handling)
- Roper v. State, 263 Ga. 201 (Ga. 1993) (trustworthiness in hearsay exceptions)
- Thomason v. State, 281 Ga. 429 (Ga. 2006) (relevance of out-of-court statements to mental state)