Title: State v. Keck

State: ohio

Issuer: Ohio Supreme Court

Document:

[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as 
State v. Keck, Slip Opinion No. 2013-Ohio-5160.] 
 
 
 
NOTICE 
This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in 
an advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports.  Readers are requested 
to promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 
65 South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or 
other formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be 
made before the opinion is published. 
 
SLIP OPINION NO. 2013-OHIO-5160 
THE STATE OF OHIO, APPELLEE, v. KECK, APPELLANT. 
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets,  
it may be cited as State v. Keck, Slip Opinion No. 2013-Ohio-5160.] 
When a defendant has stipulated to the admissibility and content of a 
nontestifying analyst’s scientific report, the testimony of a witness who 
relied on that report does not violate the defendant’s right to 
confrontation. 
(No. 2011-0686—Submitted May 7, 2013—Decided November 27, 2013.) 
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Washington County, No. 09CA50,  
2011-Ohio-1643. 
____________________ 
SYLLABUS OF THE COURT 
When a defendant has stipulated to the admissibility and content of a 
nontestifying analyst’s scientific report, the testimony of a witness who 
relied on that report does not violate the defendant’s right to confrontation. 
____________________ 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
2 
 
 
LANZINGER, J. 
{¶ 1} In this case, we are asked to decide whether a defendant’s right to 
confrontation precludes the state from introducing data within a report of a 
nontestifying forensic analyst through the in-court testimony of a second analyst 
who did not perform or observe the laboratory tests that resulted in the data.  We 
hold in this case that because the defendant stipulated to the admissibility and 
content of the nontestifying analyst’s report, the testimony of the second analyst, 
which relied on that report, did not violate the defendant’s right to confrontation. 
I.  Facts 
{¶ 2} In 2009, a jury found appellant, Daniel Arden Keck II, guilty of 
four counts of rape in violation of R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(b), five counts of gross 
sexual imposition in violation of R.C. 2907.05(A)(4) and (C)(2), one count of 
pandering obscenity involving a minor in violation of R.C. 2907.321(A)(1), two 
counts of pandering obscenity to a minor in violation of R.C. 2907.321(A)(5), 
four counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor in violation 
of R.C. 2907.322(A)(5), five counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented 
material or performance in violation of R.C. 2907.323(A)(1), six counts of illegal 
use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance in violation of R.C. 
2907.323(A)(3), and two counts of kidnapping in violation of R.C. 2905.01(A)(2), 
all arising from incidents involving underage boys.  Following his convictions, 
Keck received an aggregate sentence of 71 years of imprisonment. 
{¶ 3} Keck appealed, arguing in part that his constitutional right to 
confrontation was violated when he was denied the opportunity to cross-examine 
Mark Losko, of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (“BCI”), 
because Losko was not called to testify at trial regarding how he had created a 
DNA profile for Keck and the alleged victims.  Losko had generated DNA 
profiles, akin to graph readouts, from buccal swabs taken of Keck and the alleged 
victims in the case.  Losko included these DNA profiles in his report, which also 
January Term, 2013 
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contained a comparison between those profiles and DNA found on one piece of 
physical evidence related to the alleged incidents.  However, before the day on 
which Losko was to testify, the state’s attorney informed the trial judge that 
because Keck’s attorney agreed to stipulate to Losko’s report, the state would 
notify Losko that he would not be called to testify.  Keck’s attorney confirmed 
that he was stipulating to Losko’s report and specified that he stipulated to “both 
its admissibility and content.”  Therefore, the DNA profiles generated by Losko 
were stipulated to and were in evidence. 
{¶ 4} At trial, the state called Kristen Slaper, a BCI forensic scientist, 
who testified as an expert witness in the field of DNA analysis and comparison.  
She testified that she had used the known DNA profiles generated by Losko to 
compare against the DNA profiles that she had generated from samples collected 
from other evidence in the case.  Slaper also described Losko’s part in generating 
the DNA profile:  “He doesn’t actually do an interpretation of the standard; he just 
simply prints it out and hands it to the casework analyst.” 
{¶ 5} Slaper testified that she herself generated the DNA profiles from 
samples taken from pieces cut from a comforter containing semen stains that had 
been found in Keck’s home.  Afterwards, she compared those profiles to the DNA 
profiles generated by Losko and found that multiple samples contained DNA that 
matched Keck’s DNA profile and some samples contained DNA matching the 
DNA profiles of two of the alleged victims.  The court admitted both Slaper’s and 
Losko’s reports into evidence. 
{¶ 6} In its decision affirming the judgment of the trial court, the Fourth 
District Court of Appeals stated that Losko had performed no actual analysis on 
the DNA profiles upon which Slaper relied, but rather had generated a report 
containing raw data.  2011-Ohio-1643, ¶ 28.  Because Losko’s report contained 
only raw data and because Slaper testified and was cross-examined regarding her 
own report linking Keck to the incriminating DNA evidence, the Fourth District 
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held that Keck’s right to confrontation had been satisfied.  The court of appeals 
accordingly held that no violation of Keck’s Sixth Amendment rights had 
occurred.  Id. at ¶ 29-30. 
{¶ 7} We accepted Keck’s discretionary appeal, stayed the briefing 
schedule, and held the case for the decision in another pending case, State v. 
Estrada-Lopez, case No. 2010-0659.  128 Ohio St.3d 1556, 2011-Ohio-2905, 949 
N.E.2d 43.  Estrada-Lopez was eventually dismissed as having been 
improvidently accepted, 132 Ohio St.3d 1510, 2012-Ohio-4021, 974 N.E.2d 110, 
and we vacated the stay in this case and ordered briefing, 133 Ohio St.3d 1488, 
2012-Ohio-5459, 978 N.E.2d 908.  Now before us is Keck’s proposition of law:  
“The Confrontation Clause prohibits the State from introducing testimonial 
statements of a nontestifying forensic analyst through the in-court testimony of a 
third party who did not perform or observe the laboratory analysis on which the 
statements are based.” 
II.  Analysis 
{¶ 8} Before determining whether the state’s failure to call Losko to 
testify at trial violated Keck’s right of confrontation, a review of recent federal 
decisions provides necessary context. 
Recent federal precedent 
{¶ 9} The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides 
that “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right * * * to be 
confronted with the witnesses against him * * *.”  The application of the 
Confrontation Clause has been a widely litigated issue since the decision in 
Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158  L.Ed.2d 177 (2004).  
In Crawford, the United States Supreme Court held that “testimonial statements” 
of a witness absent from trial can be admitted only where the declarant is 
unavailable and the defendant has had a prior opportunity to cross-examine.  Id. at 
59.  While the Crawford court held that defendants are entitled to confront 
January Term, 2013 
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witnesses offering testimonial evidence, the court declined to set forth a 
comprehensive definition of “testimonial.”  Id. at 68. 
{¶ 10} Among the growing number of Confrontation Clause decisions 
since Crawford are three involving scientific reports.  Melendez-Diaz v. 
Massachusetts, 557 U.S. 305, 129 S.Ct. 2527, 174 L.Ed.2d 314 (2009); 
Bullcoming v. New Mexico, ___ U.S. ___, 131 S.Ct. 2705, 180 L.Ed.2d 610 
(2011); and Williams v. Illinois, ___ U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 2221, 183 L.Ed.2d 89 
(2012).  In Melendez-Diaz the court considered whether “certificates of analysis” 
from a state forensics laboratory stating that a white powdery substance was 
cocaine were testimonial and thus had been admitted at trial in violation of the 
defendant’s right to confrontation.  The defendant objected to the admission of the 
certificates on the grounds that Crawford required the analysts who had 
performed the tests on the seized substance to testify in person during trial.  Id. at 
309.  The trial court had overruled the objection and admitted the certificates, to 
which the analysts had sworn before a notary public.  Id. at 308-309.  The United 
States Supreme Court held that the defendant was entitled to confront the analysts 
at trial.  Id. at 329.  The fact in question was whether the substance was cocaine, 
and the certificates were functionally identical to live testimony during trial 
because they substituted for the examination of a witness on direct examination.  
Id. at 310-311.  “At the time of trial, [the defendant] did not know what tests the 
analysts performed, whether those tests were routine, and whether interpreting 
their results required the exercise of judgment or the use of skills that the analysts 
may not have possessed.”  Id. at 320. 
{¶ 11} In Bullcoming, the defendant was convicted in New Mexico of 
aggravated driving while intoxicated.  Id. at 2712.  The principal evidence was a 
forensic laboratory report certifying that the defendant’s blood-alcohol 
concentration was above the legal limit.  Id. at 2709.  The prosecution did not call 
as a witness the analyst who had signed the certification on the laboratory report 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
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and instead called another analyst who was familiar with the laboratory’s testing 
procedures but had not performed or observed the test on the defendant’s blood 
sample.  Id.  The Bullcoming majority held that the defendant had the right to 
confront the certifying analyst and that the surrogate testimony of the other 
analyst did not satisfy rights provided by the Confrontation Clause.  Id. at 2710.  
In so holding, the court stated that the key question in Confrontation Clause cases 
is whether the evidence sought to be admitted is testimonial in nature:  “As a rule, 
if an out-of-court statement is testimonial in nature, it may not be introduced 
against the accused at trial unless the witness who made the statement is 
unavailable and the accused has had a prior opportunity to confront that witness.”  
Id. at 2713.  The court noted that the certification described the analyst’s 
adherence to a precise protocol in performing the test.  Id. at 2714.  Because that 
report contained information “relating to past events and human actions” not 
revealed in “raw, machine-produced data,” the representations should have been 
subject to cross-examination.  Id. 
{¶ 12} In the third and most recent case, Williams, the court considered 
whether Crawford bars an expert from expressing an opinion based on a DNA 
profile that was made known to the expert but was not prepared by that expert.  
Williams, ___ U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. at 2227, 183 L.Ed.2d 89.  The prosecution 
called an expert who testified that a DNA profile obtained from a rape victim’s 
vaginal swabs and produced by Cellmark, an outside laboratory, matched a state-
police-lab DNA profile generated from a sample of the defendant’s blood.  Id.  
The defendant argued that his confrontation rights were violated when the expert 
testified at trial about the DNA profile.  Id. at 2227-2228.  Cellmark’s report, 
which contained the profile, was not admitted into evidence, shown to the fact-
finder, quoted or read from during trial, or identified as the source of any opinions 
the expert expressed.  Id. at 2230. 
January Term, 2013 
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{¶ 13} The lead opinion in Williams concludes that “this form of expert 
testimony does not violate the Confrontation Clause because that provision has no 
application to out-of-court statements that are not offered to prove the truth of the 
matter asserted.”  Id. at 2228.  Furthermore, “[o]ut-of-court statements that are 
related by the expert solely for the purpose of explaining the assumptions on 
which that opinion rests are not offered for their truth and thus fall outside the 
scope of the Confrontation Clause.”  Id.  The lead opinion concludes that even if 
Cellmark’s report had been admitted into evidence there would be no 
Confrontation Clause violation, because the report was produced before any 
suspect was identified, was not sought for the purpose of obtaining evidence to be 
used against the defendant, and was not inherently inculpatory.  Id.  As to this last 
reason, the lead opinion explains: 
 
When lab technicians are asked to work on the production of a 
DNA profile, they often have no idea what the consequences of 
their work will be.  In some cases, a DNA profile may provide 
powerful incriminating evidence against a person who is identified 
either before or after the profile is completed.  But in others, the 
primary effect of the profile is to exonerate a suspect who has been 
charged or is under investigation.  The technicians who prepare a 
DNA profile generally have no way of knowing whether it will 
turn out to be incriminating or exonerating—or both. 
 
Id. at 2244.  The lead opinion also states that DNA profile reports contain internal 
safeguards that prevent the reports from being inherently inculpatory and thus 
characterize them as nontestimonial: 
 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
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[T]here is no real chance that “sample contamination, sample 
switching, mislabeling, [or] fraud” could have led Cellmark to 
produce a DNA profile that falsely matched petitioner.  Post, at 
2275 (Kagan, J., dissenting).  * * * [G]iven the complexity of the 
DNA molecule, it is inconceivable that shoddy lab work would 
somehow produce a DNA profile that just so happened to have the 
precise genetic makeup of petitioner, who just so happened to be 
picked out of a lineup by the victim.  The prospect is beyond 
fanciful. 
 
Id. 
Keck’s waiver of confrontation  
{¶ 14} Our review of recent federal decisions highlights a critical 
difference between the factual scenarios found in those decisions and the facts in 
the present case.  Specifically, none of the federal cases involves a defendant who 
stipulated to the “admissibility and content” of the underlying report that the 
testifying analyst relied on. 
{¶ 15} By stipulating to the admissibility and content of Losko’s report, 
Keck waived any right to challenge Slaper’s reliance on it on the grounds that her 
testimony violated his right to confrontation.  Keck now argues that with respect 
to Losko’s report, Slaper testified as a surrogate witness who presented Losko’s 
findings as fact.  Keck states that his right to confrontation was violated when 
Slaper’s testimony and report were admitted without the opportunity to cross-
examine Losko, since Losko prepared the data that Slaper used in her analysis.  
This argument is unavailing in light of the fact that Keck stipulated to the 
admissibility and content of Losko’s report.  Keck now argues that he did not 
stipulate to the portion of Losko’s report that was relied upon by Slaper, but rather 
to a portion in another report.  However, the record clearly shows that at the 
January Term, 2013 
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conclusion of court proceedings the day before Losko was to be called to testify, 
Keck unequivocally stipulated to the admissibility and content of Losko’s entire 
report, which contained DNA profiles of six individuals and of stains on one piece 
of evidence:  
 
MR. RINGS [prosecuting attorney]:  Tomorrow morning, 
I’ve got two witnesses coming from BCI.  Attorney Baumgartel 
[Keck’s attorney] has agreed to stipulate the report of a third BCI 
witness, Mark Losko, so I’m going to go tell him he does not have 
to come tomorrow.  We’re going to call Raymond Peoples and 
Kristen Slaper.  They’re the two analysts who did the DNA testing.  
* * *  
* * * 
THE COURT:  Okay, see you all in the morning.  Thank 
you. 
MR. BAUMGARTEL:  And that’s correct, as far as the 
stipulation concerned, that is. 
THE COURT:  What? 
MR. BAUMGARTEL:  What, I’m just agreeing that I am 
stipulating to the one report, whose name, I can’t remember now. 
MR. RINGS:  Mark Losko. 
MR. BAUMGARTEL:  Mark Losko. 
THE COURT:  Well, make sure you offer it and then at 
that time, we’ll say that it’s been agreed that it’s admissible. 
Are you stipulating to its admissibility or to its contents? 
MR. RINGS:  Just the report, both its admissibility and 
content. 
MS. CAUTHORN [prosecuting attorney]:  Without him. 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
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MR. RINGS:  Without him testifying. 
MR. BAUMGARTEL:  Right, I’m not arguing. 
 
(Emphases added.) Thus, the record shows that Keck’s attorney did not limit the 
stipulation he made to Losko’s report.  While he did argue the following day that 
he did not stipulate for purposes of Slaper’s testimony, this argument was offered 
only after the broad stipulation had already obviated any need for the state to call 
Losko to testify. 
{¶ 16} In creating her own report, Slaper used the portion of Losko’s 
report containing the DNA profiles of the six individuals, which she compared to 
the DNA profiles from stains on three different pieces of evidence.  Losko 
produced only one report in this case, and Keck stipulated to it in its entirety.  
Slaper’s reliance upon Losko’s data in her report and her testimony regarding that 
data thus does not violate Keck’s right to confrontation. 
{¶ 17} By stipulating to Losko’s report, Keck waived any argument that 
the report was inadmissible or inaccurate.  By stipulating, Keck agreed that the 
report was admissible and a truthful representation of Losko’s findings; he could 
no longer assert any right to confront Losko.  It is especially revealing that, 
according to the record, the state was prepared and willing to call Losko to testify 
before Keck agreed to the stipulation.  It was thus Keck’s own decision that 
rendered Losko’s testimony unnecessary.  We cannot hold that Keck’s 
confrontation rights were violated.  Furthermore, based on the facts of this case, 
we decline to address Keck’s argument that the Ohio Constitution affords a 
greater right of confrontation than the federal constitution. 
III.  Conclusion 
{¶ 18} When a defendant has stipulated to the admissibility and content of 
a nontestifying analyst’s scientific report, the testimony of a witness who relied 
on that report does not violate the defendant’s right to confrontation.  When Keck 
January Term, 2013 
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stipulated to Losko’s report, he waived any later Confrontation Clause challenge 
to the use of the report by other witnesses.  We accordingly affirm the judgment 
of the court of appeals. 
Judgment affirmed. 
O’CONNOR, C.J., and PFEIFER, KENNEDY, and FRENCH, JJ., concur. 
O’DONNELL and O’NEILL, JJ., concur in judgment only. 
____________________ 
 
James E. Schneider, Washington County Prosecuting Attorney, and Alison 
L. Cauthorn and Kevin A. Rings, Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys, for appellee. 
Rittgers & Rittgers, Charles H. Rittgers, and Nicholas D. Graman, for 
appellant. 
 
Michael Dewine, Attorney General, and Michael J. Hendershot, Chief 
Deputy Solicitor, for amicus curiae Ohio Attorney General. 
________________________