People v. Garner

(Modified upon denial of rehearing 9/23/16.) Defendant was convicted of murdering her six-year-old daughter. Defendant appealed arguing that the court improperly: excluded expert testimony, permitted testimony regarding communications between Defendant and her husband, and permitted another witness to testify about incriminating statements made by Defendant's mother.State presented such a strong case that it is virtually impossible that outcome at trial would have been different had expert been permitted to testify. Even though incriminating statements should have been excluded, this error was also harmless beyond a reasonable doubt given amount of incriminating evidence presented. Court properly denied Defendant’s spousal privilege argument as conversation at issue directly involved their child’s interests. A child’s interest may still be directly involved in a case in which a parent is being prosecuted for their child’s murder. (ROCHFORD and HOFFMAN, concurring.)