State v. Kenney

Summary

The court affirmed the exclusion of an unavailable witness’s hearsay statements under the residual hearsay exception. It held that the State affirmatively waived independent present-sense-impression and excited-utterance arguments, that the trial court was not required to decide those exceptions before rejecting admission under the residual exception, and that the exclusion ruling was within the court’s discretion. The court also held that the trial court’s reliance on former hearsay law was harmless because it ultimately applied the correct standard.