Commonwealth of Virginia, Appellant v. Storme Gary Swann, A/k/a Henry Gary Simpson, A/k/a Gary Simpson, Appellee.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the reversal of Swann's convictions because the trial court improperly admitted double hearsay concerning an anonymous tip, and the error was not harmless. The court held that the defense's limited questioning about other investigative tips did not open the door to the detailed content of the tip implicating Swann. It avoided deciding the separate Confrontation Clause issue and vacated only that constitutional portion of the Court of Appeals' judgment.