When Associate Judge Robert S. Smith of the New York Court of Appeals retires at the end of 2014, the court will lose a truly independent voice. This article explores how Smith sought to re-imagine New York’s sometimes arcane approach to hearsay.
In his partial concurrence in People v. Rosario, Smith advocated broadening the “prompt outcry” rule. As the majority explained, a sexual assault victim’s timely report of the incident is admissible because a jury may question a victim’s veracity if it does not hear that she promptly reported the attack.
