McCord v. State
305 Ga. 318
Ga.2019Background
- On Dec. 30, 2010, KeJuan Hall was stabbed to death in a convenience store; her unborn child also died. Clarence McCord was later arrested and charged; he waived a jury trial and was convicted at a bench trial of malice murder, feticide, and tampering with evidence.
- Multiple witnesses placed a man and woman in the store near the time of the killing; several witnesses identified McCord as the man they saw. Surveillance recorder was stolen and unavailable; other video was low-resolution.
- Jeffery Collins and Doni Carnes discovered the body and gave statements; both later died before trial. Collins made statements at the scene to Officers Poole and Davis and earlier to Carnes; Collins also gave a recorded police interview the next day.
- Physical evidence tied McCord to the scene: his DNA and fingerprints were found on wipes, cigarette packs, a vinyl glove, and other items; McCord admitted presence, disposing of the recorder and weapon, and attempting to clean up blood, but blamed co-defendant Watson for the killing.
- McCord objected to admission of Collins’s out-of-court statements on Confrontation Clause and hearsay grounds. The trial court admitted the statements, finding many nontestimonial and, alternatively, admissible as present sense impressions or excited utterances.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (McCord) | Defendant's Argument (State) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Collins’s statements to responding officers implicated the Confrontation Clause | Statements to police were testimonial and inadmissible absent cross-examination | Statements were nontestimonial because made to address an ongoing emergency | Statements to Officer Poole were nontestimonial and admissible; statements to Officer Davis, if testimonial, were harmlessly cumulative |
| Whether Collins’s statements at scene were admissible hearsay (present sense impression) | Too much time (~20 min) elapsed; lack contemporaneity defeats present sense impression | Statements were contemporaneous and made under stress; admissible | Trial court’s present sense impression ruling not necessary; statements nevertheless admissible as excited utterances |
| Whether Collins’s statements to Carnes (pre-discovery and discovery statements) were admissible hearsay | Many statements pre-dated discovery and thus not excited utterances; admission erroneous | Statements were excited utterances or, if error, cumulative of admissible statements | Even if admission of pre-discovery remarks was erroneous, any error was harmless because statements were cumulative of other admissible evidence |
| Whether any confrontation/hearsay error was reversible where other evidence implicated McCord | N/A (implicit) — errors contaminated conviction | Any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt given strong physical and testimonial evidence linking McCord to the scene and his own admissions | No reversible error; convictions affirmed |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (constitutional sufficiency standard for verdicts)
- Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (testimonial statements and Confrontation Clause rule)
- Michigan v. Bryant, 562 U.S. 344 (objective primary-purpose test for ongoing emergency)
- Davidson v. State, 304 Ga. 460 (harmless error for Confrontation Clause violations when evidence cumulative or overwhelming)
- Robbins v. State, 300 Ga. 387 (excited utterance admissibility and totality-of-circumstances timing analysis)
- Brown v. State, 288 Ga. 404 (testimonial hearsay may be harmless when cumulative)
- Jiminez v. United States, 564 F.3d 1280 (admissibility may be upheld on alternative proper grounds)