Francis Santos Castanedav.The State
Francis Santos Castaneda was convicted of two counts of child molestation after the trial court admitted a victim’s recorded interview with a detective and other prior consistent statements. The Court of Appeals of Georgia held that admitting the recorded interview was error and that the State had not shown the error harmless as a matter of law. Because the conviction had to be reversed and a new trial ordered, the court did not reach Castaneda’s separate claims of ineffective assistance or other evidentiary errors. The majority reversed the judgment of conviction. One judge concurred, while the presiding judge concurred only in the judgment. The opinion also notes that the court had considered, but did not adopt, an en banc challenge involving an earlier evidentiary precedent.
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