State of Tennessee, Appellee v. Maurice Gordon, Appellant (Tennessee 1997)

Summary

The court affirmed the defendant's aggravated-rape conviction, holding that the victim's statements to her mother were admissible as excited utterances and that statements recorded by a psychologist and relied upon by a nurse practitioner were admissible under the medical-diagnosis-and-treatment exception. The court concluded that the victim's painful urination was a startling event and that the surrounding circumstances supported an inference that her statements at the clinic were made for purposes of diagnosis and treatment. No separate opinions were filed.

Holding

Admission of the victim's statements to her mother as excited utterances. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the statements under the excited-utterance exception because the victim's painful urination was a sufficiently startling event, the identification related to that event, and the victim remained under the stress of the event when she made the identification.

Admission of the victim's statements to the psychologist under the medical-diagnosis-and-treatment exception. The statements were admissible because the State established a sufficient foundation that they were made for medical diagnosis and treatment and described information reasonably pertinent to that purpose.

State of Tennessee, Appellee v. Maurice Gordon, Appellant

Summary

Holding

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