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Minor Victim's Statements to Fellow Plane Passengers are Excited Utterances; Government Need Not Prove Defendant Knew Age of Victim

By Jonathan Byrne

US v. Jennings: Jennings was convicted of abusive sexual conduct with a minor based on his actions on a flight from San Diego to Dulles, during which he hit on, groped, and fondled a 13 year old girl. On appeal, Jennings made several arguments regarding his trial, which were rejected by the Fourth Circuit.First, Jennings argued that the district court erred by admitting into evidence the testimony of two other passengers on the flight who recounted allegations the victim made against him during the flight. The court held that the statements were properly admitted as excited utterances under FRE 803(2) and rejected Jennings argument that the five minutes that passed between the alleged events and the victim's recitation of them to another passenger gave her sufficient time to reflect upon her statements...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Circuit Blog on August 06, 2007 (boomark / email).