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The Statev.Kenneth Mcpherson

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A17A0364
DecidedMay 9, 2017
JudgesCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Tags
CriminalCriminal ProcedureEvidenceOther-Acts EvidenceStatutory InterpretationReversal
Case Summary

The State appealed an order excluding evidence that Kenneth McPherson, a child psychologist, had allegedly molested a child decades before the charged offenses. McPherson was indicted on multiple counts involving young patients and argued that the earlier conduct was too remote and that the State’s notice was untimely. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that the Georgia Evidence Code specifically permits evidence of another child-molestation offense when relevant, subject to the ordinary balancing rule for unfair prejudice. The court concluded that the prior acts were sufficiently similar and probative despite the passage of time and that the State’s notice was not improperly late because prosecutors learned of the report only shortly before trial. It held that the trial court abused its discretion by excluding the evidence and reversed. The ruling did not decide McPherson’s guilt on the charged offenses.

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The State V. Kenneth Mcpherson — The Atlanta Gleaner