State v. Terrovona
Washington Supreme Court
716 P.2d 295 (1986)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
Gene Patton told his girlfriend that his stepson, James R. Terrovona (defendant), called him to report car trouble on 116th Street in Marysville, Washington, and requested Patton's assistance. Patton told his girlfriend that he must be crazy, but he was leaving to help Terrovona. Shortly thereafter, a passerby found Patton's murdered body on 116th Street. The State of Washington (plaintiff) prosecuted Terrovona for Patton's murder. The trial judge admitted evidence of Patton's statement to the girlfriend. Patton's statement was the strongest evidence of Terrovona's guilt. A jury convicted Terrovona, and he appealed to the Supreme Court of Washington, arguing Patton's statement was inadmissible hearsay.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Andersen, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.