Utah Supreme Court
Larry Julian, Plaintiff and Appellee v. State of Utah, Defendant and Appellant
August 4, 1998966 P.2d 249
Summary
The court held that the four-year catch-all limitations period could not constitutionally bar a habeas corpus petition and that the habeas court acted within its discretion in considering Julian's allegedly untimely petition. It further held that the child-sexual-abuse hearsay statute applies only to statements not otherwise admissible under existing evidentiary rules, requiring reversal because the habeas court had not determined which challenged statements were admissible or the purposes for which they could be used. The case was remanded for those admissibility and prejudice determinations. Justice Stewart and Justice Zimmerman concurred, with both emphasizing the constitutional importance of habeas corpus and criticizing strict limitations on post-conviction review.
Holding
- Application of the four-year catch-all limitations period to habeas petitions. The four-year catch-all statute may not constitutionally be applied to bar a habeas corpus petition because doing so violates the Utah Constitution's open-courts and separation-of-powers provisions.
- Interests-of-justice exception to the one-year limitations period. The habeas court did not abuse its discretion by considering Julian's petition under the interests-of-justice exception.
- Scope of the child-sexual-abuse hearsay statute. The child-sexual-abuse hearsay statute applies only to out-of-court statements that are not otherwise admissible under existing evidentiary rules; independently admissible statements do not require additional reliability findings under that statute.
- Admissibility and effect of the particular statements admitted at trial. The record was insufficient to determine whether the challenged statements were admissible under the evidentiary rules, whether they were admitted as substantive evidence or only for a limited purpose, and whether any error was reversible; the case therefore had to be remanded for those determinations.
Docket 970163
Cited authorities
- Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-403.1
- Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-411
- Utah Code Ann. § 78-12-25
- Utah Code Ann. § 78-12-31.1
- Utah Code Ann. § 78
- Utah Code Ann. § 78
- Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-411
- Utah Code Ann. § 76-5-410