prospective juror did not have to be disqualified for cause due to fact that her husband was police officer
How later courts described this case
- prospective juror did not have to be disqualified for cause due to fact that her husband was police officer
- court stressed need to consider importance of open and public courtroom in resolving claim of improper spectator influence
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
*428 MILLER, Justice,
dissenting:
My dissent goes to the in-court testimony of the victim’s mother who recited what her daughter had told her about being sexually abused by the defendant. This conversation occurred some three weeks after the incident. The majority holds these statements to be admissible relying on State v. Edward Charles L., 183 W.Va. 641 , 398 S.E.2d 123 (1990). In Part V of my dissent to that case, I set out at length why I believe such statements are not admissible. Simply put, the statements are hearsay and cannot be placed under any exception to the hearsay rule.