For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 22
Pennsylvania's Present State of Mind
Martín E. Souto-Díaz
D
uring law school, lawyers are trained to recite
the magic definition of " Hearsay " , i.e., hearsay
is an out-of-court statement, made by someone
other than the declarant, being offered for the truth
of the matter asserted. While generally inadmissible
in courts of law, the crafted exceptions to the hearsay
rule of evidence, at times, prove more elusive than
the definition itself.1
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court
clarified one such exception recently. On July 23, 2021,
a 5-2 majority of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held
in Commonwealth v. Fitzpatrick2
that when a state-ofmind
hearsay statement contains a fact-based element,
it is not admissible merely because it also contains a
contemporaneous state-of-mind expression. However,
as with all hearsay exceptions, this decision cannot
be summarized accurately in one sentence and to
conduct a proper analysis, the facts of Fitzpatrick must
be examined.
Background
On June 6, 2012, Annemarie Fitzpatrick and
her husband, Joseph Fitzpatrick, were riding allterrain
vehicles ( " ATV " ) as part of their anniversary
celebration. At some point during the ride, Annemarie
lost her life.3
Joseph Fitzpatrick told the investigating
22 For The Defense l Vol. 7, Issue 1
Additionally, Troopers recovered an email on
Annemarie's personal account. The subject of that
email was similar to the above-cited note:
" if something happens to me. " 7
On June 8, 2021, Pennsylvania State Police ( " PSP " )
received a call from Annemarie's co-worker, Rebekah
Berry. Berry informed PSP Troopers that she and her
co-workers found Annemarie's day-planner, which
contained an ominous note bearing Annmarie's
signature:
" 06/05/12. If something happens to me - JOE. " 6
Troopers that her ATV flipped backwards and tossed
the couple into a deep part of Muddy Creek in York
County. While Fitzpatrick escaped the accident
" relatively unscathed, " 4
he indicated he was unable
to find Annemarie until he was on the phone with the
911 dispatcher. At that point, Fitzpatrick claimed that
he saw Annmarie's body and attempted to resuscitate
her to no avail. The York County Coroner's Office
determined that the cause of Annemarie's death was
drowning.5
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1
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