Opinion

Smart v. State

  • 544 S.W.2d 109
  • 1976 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 334
Court
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
Filed
Aug 17, 1976
Status
Published
Author
Galbreath
On the bench
Galbreath, Russell, Walker
Cited by
16 cases

The opinion

GALBREATH, Judge

(dissenting).

I respectfully dissent for two reasons.

The first, touching on the inference the majority holds permissible based on the possession of property recently stolen in a burglary, is discussed in great detail in my dissent in Capps v. State. It would be well, in my opinion, if our Supreme Court would pass on this issue.

Secondly, relative to the Matlock statement implicating appellant, it seems to me that the teaching of Bruton is that an accused must be afforded his constitutionally protected right of confronting the witness against him. This should in no way depend on whether the hearsay evidence is offered by the State or on behalf of a co-defendant as the majority seems to infer. While I agree with Judge Russell that the overall effect of the disputed testimony was harmless, I would unequivocally hold that its admission was error.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.