State v. Deutor
Louisiana Court of Appeal
842 So. 2d 438 (2003)
- Written by Abby Roughton, JD
Facts
Silvio Deutor (defendant) shot his common-law wife, Anita, and Anita’s four-year-old daughter, Ashley, during an argument. Anita and Ashley survived the shooting, and the State of Louisiana (plaintiff) charged Deutor with attempted murder. At Deutor’s trial, which occurred roughly two years after the shooting, the state called six-year-old Ashley to testify as a witness. Because of Ashley’s young age, the trial judge first questioned Ashley to determine whether she was competent to testify. Ashley seemed afraid during the hearing and was unable to look at Deutor when the prosecutor asked her to do so. However, Ashley correctly wrote and spelled her name, and she correctly identified details about herself, including her age, her date of birth, her grade in school, and her teacher’s name. When the judge asked Ashley in the abstract whether she knew the difference between a truth and a lie, Ashley hesitated and could not answer. However, when the judge intentionally misidentified the color of Ashley’s dress, Ashley was able to explain to the judge that the untrue statement about the dress color would be considered a lie. The judge found that Ashley was a competent witness and allowed her to testify. The jury ultimately found Deutor guilty, and he appealed to the Louisiana Court of Appeal.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Cannizzaro, J.)
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