State v. P.S. (A-21-09)6-7-10
The Court declines to adopt a per se rule of exclusion
in a case in which a child sex abuse victim’s taped
statement is lost. The Court reaffirms the totality
of circumstances standard as the appropriate benchmark
for the admissibility of a tender years statement
under N.J.R.E. 830 (c) (27). In addition, the Court
reiterates its holdings in State v. Cook and State v.
Branch that simultaneous notes taken of a child sex
abuse victim’s interview should not be destroyed but
should be maintained throughout trial. The Court
declines to interpret its decisions in State v. G.S.
and State v. G.V. as providing an automatic basis for
the admission of other-crimes evidence to counter a
bias or vendetta defense. Rather, such other-crimes
evidence may only be admitted if it satisfies N.J.R.E.
404(b) and is not offered to prove the defendant’s
criminal propensity.
