State v. Grady
Decision Date | 15 January 1979 |
Docket Number | Nos. 129,130,s. 129 |
Citation | 619 S.W.2d 139 |
Parties | STATE of Tennessee, Petitioner, v. Luther E. GRADY, Jr., Respondent. |
Court | Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals |
William M. Leech, Jr., Atty. Gen., John Zimmermann, Asst. Atty. Gen., Nashville, Richard A. Fisher, Dist. Atty. Gen., Cleveland, for petitioner.
Eddie L. Headrick, Cleveland, for respondent.
The State of Tennessee contests * the order of the trial judge, in which he dismissed two indictments against Luther E. Grady. Jr. on the ground that they were returned solely on the basis of hearsay evidence presented to the Bradley County Grand Jury by the chief investigating officer. The trial judge ruled that "based upon Rule 5.1(a) of the Tennessee Criminal Rules of Procedure, and the decision of the (Tennessee) Supreme Court in Waugh v. State of Tennessee, 564 S.W.2d 654 (1978), that something more than heresay (sic) evidence is necessary before the Defendant can be properly indicted."
In this ruling the trial judge was plainly wrong. Both Rule 5.1(a) and the Waugh opinion deal exclusively with preliminary hearings and, by their own terms, neither has any application to grand jury proceedings. Indeed, Tennessee law specifically allows indictment upon hearsay testimony. Gammon v. State, 506 S.W.2d 188 (Tenn.Crim.App.1973); Casey v. State, 491 S.W.2d 90 (Tenn.Crim.App.1972); State v. Marks, 3 Tenn.Crim.App. 539, 464 S.W.2d 326 (1970); Parton v. State, 2 Tenn.Crim.App. 626, 455 S.W.2d 645 (1970). The rule that a grand jury may indict a person solely upon the testimony of an investigator, even though the testimony would be inadmissible hearsay if offered at trial, is followed in the federal courts, Costello v. United States, 350 U.S. 359, 76 S.Ct. 406, 100 L.Ed. 397 (1959), and by a substantial number of other state jurisdictions. See, e.g., Douglas v. State, 42 Ala.App. 314, 163 So.2d 477 (1963), rev'd. on other grounds 380 U.S. 415, 85 S.Ct. 1074, 13 L.Ed.2d 934 (1965). Commonwealth v. Dessus, 423 Pa. 177, 224 A.2d 188 (1966); People v. Jones, 19 Ill.2d 37, 166 N.E.2d 1 (1960); People v. McCrackin, 61 Ill.App.2d 457, 209 N.E.2d 673 (1965); State v. Goldberg, 261 N.C. 181, 134 S.E.2d 334 (1964), cert. denied, 377 U.S. 978, 84 S.Ct. 1884, 12 L.Ed.2d 747 (1964); State v. Matthews, 218 So.2d 743 (Miss.1969); State v. Parks, 437 P.2d 642, 37 A.L.R.3d 605 (Alaska 1968); State v. Turner, 268 N.C. 225, 150 S.E.2d 406 (1966); State v. Wall, 273 N.C. 130, 159 S.E.2d 317 (1968).
The order of the trial court is hereby vacated, the indictments are reinstated, and the cases are remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
I concur in Judge Daughtrey's opinion. The authorities for the opinion are legion, but I feel compelled to call attention to the realities. This can best be done by citing Hawkins v. Superior Court, California Supreme Court, 150 Cal.Rptr. 435, 586 P.2d 916.
Grand juries should be encouraged to investigate cases presented to them.
* The State originally...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
State v. Carruthers
...(Tenn.Crim.App.1982) (refusing to dismiss an indictment that was based upon unsworn testimony to the grand jury); State v. Grady, 619 S.W.2d 139, 140 (Tenn.Crim.App.1979) (refusing to dismiss an indictment that was based upon inadmissible hearsay testimony); State v. Northcutt, 568 S.W.2d 6......
-
State v. Rhoden
...determination does not, as a matter of law, compel this Court to reverse a conviction and order a new trial. State v. Grady, 619 S.W.2d 139, 143 (Tenn.Crim.App.1980). This error can be waived by the accused. Tenn.R.App.P. 36(a); State v. Grady, supra. In the case sub judice this error was w......
-
State v. Wilson, No. M2004-00110-CCA-R3-CD (TN 2/4/2005)
...Crim. App. 1982) (refusing to dismiss an indictment that was based upon unsworn testimony to the grand jury); State v. Grady, 619 S.W.2d 139, 140 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1979) (refusing to dismiss an indictment that was based upon inadmissible hearsay testimony); State v. Northcutt, 568 S.W.2d 63......
-
State v. Martin
...that the presentments should have been dismissed because they were based upon hearsay testimony is without merit. State v. Grady, 619 S.W.2d 139, 140 (Tenn.Cr.App.1979). The appellant complains that the 700-day delay from the return of the indictment until the beginning of his trial violate......