Pernell v. People

Citations

• 2018 CO 13
• 411 P.3d 669

Syllabus

Criminal Law—Harmless Error. The Supreme Court reviewed the Court of Appeals' opinion affirming defendant's conviction for burglary, kidnapping, sexual assault, and other offenses. The Court of Appeals held that although the trial court erred by admitting a victim's out-of-court statements as excited utterances under CRE 803(2), the trial court's error did not require reversal because the statements were admissible as prior consistent statements to rehabilitate the victim's credibility after defense counsel attacked it during his opening statement. The Court concluded that any error in the admission of the victim's out-of-court statements was harmless because there was no reasonable possibility that the admission of these statements contributed to defendant's conviction. Accordingly, the Court declined to address whether defense counsel's opening statement opened the door to the admission of the victim's out-of-court statements and expressed no opinion on this issue. The Court therefore affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals, albeit on different grounds.