State v. McFarland

Summary

The court affirmed the defendant’s convictions for two murders, rejecting his due process challenge to the thirty-two-year prearrest delay, his request for another competency evaluation, and his challenge to the exclusion of a deceased witness’s statements. Under the federal Constitution, the defendant failed to show both actual and substantial prejudice and an improper purpose for the delay; under the state Constitution, the delay was justified after the state promptly acted on newly developed DNA evidence. The court also upheld the exclusion of the statements because they lacked sufficient guarantees of reliability and trustworthiness.