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Carterv.The State

CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
Docket No.S17A1126
DecidedOctober 2, 2017
JudgesSupreme Court of Georgia
Tags
CriminalCriminal LawEvidenceHearsayConfrontation ClausePlain ErrorTales From the CryptMurder & Mayhem
Case Summary

D’Andre Carter was convicted of malice murder and related offenses after evidence connected him and his brothers to a drug-related robbery and shooting. The trial court admitted a recording of a conversation in which a non-testifying third party made statements while Carter made inculpatory responses, and it admitted a short jail telephone recording so the jury could compare Carter’s voice and laugh with the voice on the first recording. The Supreme Court of Georgia held that the third party’s statements were relevant because they gave context and coherence to Carter’s responses, were not hearsay because they were not offered for their truth, and did not violate the Confrontation Clause for the same reason. The telephone recording was likewise not hearsay because it was admitted for identification rather than for the truth of any statement, and Carter’s unpreserved authentication objections did not satisfy plain error review. The court affirmed.

Opinion

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