State v. Smith

Defendant appeals his conviction for first-degree sexual abuse. In his sole assignment of error, defendant asserts that the trial court erred in excluding on hearsay grounds defendant’s proffered testimony that his father told him that a police officer had told his father that defendant’s parents would lose their home if defendant contested the charges in this case. Defendant asserts that both statements included in the proffer were relevant for a nonhearsay purpose, namely, to show that defendant had a motive to confess falsely to one of the crimes with which he was charged. We reverse and…