Deposition, Use of because of Unavailability of Witness

Except as indicated, all indented material is copied directly from the court’s opinion. 

Decisions of the Tennessee Supreme Court

Decisions of the Tennessee Court of Appeals

Buckley v. Carlock, No. M2019-02294-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 28, 2022).

During  the  first  phase  of  trial,  the  court  admitted  a  witness’s  deposition  into evidence.    A  witness’s  deposition  may  be  admitted  into  evidence  if  the  witness  is unavailable  to  testify.    See  TENN. R. EVID. 804(b)(1),  cmt.   Defendants  argue  that  the witness was not unavailable, as the trial court found.   Generally, we review a trial court’s decision  on  the  admissibility  of  evidence  only  for  an  abuse  of  discretion.    State  v.  Davis, 466  S.W.3d  49,  61  (Tenn.  2015).   This  includes  decisions  on  whether  a  witness  was unavailable.   See Hicks v. State, 490 S.W.2d 174, 179 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1972).