Dept. of Human Services v. J. L. S.

An out-of-court statement is typically hearsay, and thus inadmissible, if it is offered to prove the truth of the matter it asserts. OEC 801(3); OEC 802. Evidentiary errors are harmless and do not warrant reversal “if there is little likelihood that the particular error affected the verdict.” Dept. of Human Services v. G. D. W., 353 Or 25, 39 (2012).

The juvenile court issued a judgment asserting jurisdiction over Mother’s three children, H, C, and S. Mother assigns error to the juvenile court’s decisions admitting H’s out-of-court statements as nonhearsay under OEC 801(4)(b)(A), designating a caseworker as an expert witness, and admitting that caseworker’s opinions regarding Mother’s drug use. An out-of-court statement is typically hearsay, and thus inadmissible, if it is offered to prove the truth of the matter it asserts. OEC 801(3); OEC 802. Evidentiary errors are harmless and do not warrant reversal “if there is little likelihood that the particular error affected the verdict.” Dept. of Human Services v. G. D. W., 353 Or 25, 39 (2012). Because H’s statements reflect that H was aligned with the Department of Human Services, the juvenile court erred in admitting them; however, the Court determined that this error had little likelihood of affecting its jurisdictional determination in light of other testimony on the record. Therefore, this error was harmless and does not warrant reversal. The Court also determined that, even if the juvenile court erred in admitting the caseworker’s testimony, this error was also harmless because it placed an equal amount of weight on other testimony when issuing its oral findings concerning Mother’s drug use. Affirmed.