Bays v. State

In Bays v. State, 396 S.W.3d 580 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013), the child complainant testified at trial, but the State also was allowed to introduce an audio/video-recorded interview of the child. The Court overturned Bays' conviction after finding that the trial court committed reversible error in the admission of the video interview, despite the argument of the State that the recording was admissible under the outcry statute, Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.072 (Supp. 2014). On appeal, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected that argument, ruling that "to permit admission of a complainant's videotaped statement under the more lenient outcry statute would undermine Article 38.071's rigid unavailability requirement and its requirements aimed at guaranteeing the expertise and neutrality of the interviewer." Id.