United States v. George Hills, Jr.

After a trial to the court, appellant was convicted of possessing stolen mail ( 18 U.S.C. § 1708 ) and of wilfully breaking into a mail collection box ( 18 U.S.C. § 1705 ). On this appeal, he contends that (1) unreliable hearsay statements were improperly admitted in evidence, (2) he was denied due process when the prosecution failed to produce a witness, and (3) the evidence was insufficient to sustain the convictions; We affirm.

Appellant’s apprehension was the result of a telephone call to the local police operator, late at night, from an unidentified bystander. His information was switched onto the police radio and appellant was captured within minutes. A tire iron, used to pry open the mail box was recovered, together with the stolen mail.

The operator, Mary Binder, was permitted to testify to the tone of voice and manner of speaking of the caller and to the substance of his message. The trial court admitted the evidence, over a hearsay objection, as an excited utterance or spontaneous declaration. The ruling was a correct application of a well-known exception to the hearsay exclusionary rule. 6 Wigmore on Evidence § 1747 (3rd ed. 1940). See Note, “Spontaneous Exclamations…