STATE OF TENNESSEE v. TRAVIS RUZICKA - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. TRAVIS RUZICKA

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jul 12, 2024

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Claiborne H. Ferguson (on appeal), and Joseph S. Ozment (at trial), Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Travis Ruzicka.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Richard D. Douglas, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Steven J. Mulroy, District Attorney General; and Lessie Rainey and Regina Lucreziano, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): HIXSON

A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Travis Ruzicka, of rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery. He appeals, contending that (1) the forensic interview did not meet the admissibility requirements of Tennessee Code Annotated section 24-7-123; (2) the trial court erred by admitting the forensic interview of the victim after the victim had testified, thus depriving the Defendant of the opportunity to contemporaneously cross-examine the victim as to the contents of the interview recording; and (3) the victim was incompetent to testify at trial and thus unavailable for cross-examination. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

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