Commonwealth v. Walter

I concur in the result reached by the majority, although my reasoning is somewhat different.

First, while I agree that competency to testify is not a prerequisite to the admissibility of out-of-court statements under the Tender Years Hearsay Act (“TYHA”), see Majority Opinion, at 453-54, and that in this limited sense the two issues are “distinct,” id. at 452,1 believe the two types of assessments may be interrelated in some circumstances. For example, competency requires" an understanding of the duty to tell the truth. See Pa.R.E. 601(b)(4). Absent such an understanding, the witness cannot…