State v. Hurst
Louisiana Court of Appeal
828 So. 2d 1165 (2002)
- Written by Abby Roughton, JD
Facts
Allen Delatte was shot outside the New Orleans Superdome after an event called the Super Fair. Police detectives identified Duvander Hurst (defendant) as the suspected shooter. A news reporter from WWL-TV went to the home of Ethel Hurst, Hurst’s mother, to ask her about the shooting. Ethel told the reporter that she was Hurst’s mother. Ethel also told the reporter that Hurst told her that he had been at the Super Fair but did not have anything to do with the shooting. Hurst eventually turned himself in to police, and the State of Louisiana (plaintiff) charged him with second-degree murder. At Hurst’s trial, the prosecution played a videotape of the WWL-TV report featuring Ethel and the reporter. Only Ethel’s hand was visible on the videotape, but Ethel testified at trial and admitted that she made the statements to the reporter. The jury found Hurst guilty of second-degree murder, and he appealed to the Louisiana Court of Appeal. On appeal, Hurst argued that the trial court improperly allowed the jury to view the videotape because it contained hearsay within hearsay—Ethel’s statements to the reporter and Hurst’s statement to Ethel that Hurst had been at the Super Fair.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Kirby, J.)
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