Source: https://www.tdcaa.com/journal/the-forfeiture-by-wrongdoing-%C2%ADdoctrine-nine-years-after-crawford/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 12:54:47+00:00

Document:
It’s the Friday before a domestic violence trial is set to begin on Monday. As a prosecutor, you have just finished meeting with the patrol officer first on the scene and the detective who investigated; next, you are scheduled to meet with Susan, the victim, to talk about what happened that day and to discuss her testimony. You wait. Thirty minutes past the scheduled meeting time, you call your investigator and ask him to contact Susan to find out where she is.
Another 30 minutes goes by, and the investigator comes into your office to tell you that Susan’s family said that she has left town, despite being subpoenaed. The family isn’t sure where she went, but Susan has several friends in other cities and states where she could have gone.
Her family thinks that the defendant threatened her in some way to keep her out of court. In the past couple of weeks, she received several phone calls where she looked concerned during the conversations and said to the caller in a low voice, “You wouldn’t dare.” Family members had asked her if it was her boyfriend, the defendant, who had called, but she wouldn’t say anything other than to shake her head no with tears in her eyes. Susan’s brother said that she told him just before she left that she was afraid for her life if she testified; he also claims to have overheard the defendant stating to others in a bar that he is not worried about his upcoming trial because “it is all taken of.” The investigator tells you that he asked the brother to come in to talk to you, and he is on his way.
You’re not worried—but should you be?
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals adopted this doctrine, applying it in a capital murder case in Gonzalez v. State.7 Police had arrived at the victims’ house, finding that both Maria and Baldomero Herrera had been shot. Maria Herrera described their assailant as a relative of the people who lived across the street; she had recognized him during the assault, and he had stolen the neighbors’ truck. Police, acting on this information, found the stolen truck and set up surveillance. They saw the defendant, Ray Gonzalez, who matched Maria’s description, get into the truck; he then led them in a high-speed chase. After he was apprehended and arrested, Maria’s blood was found on his shoes.8 Maria died from her wounds a few hours after giving her statements.
As one would expect, soon after the Court of Criminal Appeals issued its opinion in Gonzalez other Texas intermediate appellate courts followed the forfeiture by wrongdoing doctrine.11 For example, in Sohail v. State, the defendant allegedly struck his then-pregnant wife in the face after she had allegedly spilled hot tea in his lap. The victim left their home in Sugarland the following day and traveled to Carrollton, where her parents lived. She made a report to the Carrollton police at her parents’ insistence, then went back to Sugarland with her mother to make a report there as well. The victim obtained a protective order against her husband, which she later dropped because the defendant forced her to (according to her mother).
The fundamental difference between the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ “more broad” interpretation and application of the forfeiture by wrongdoing doctrine in Gonzales, and its limitation as recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in its application by Giles, is that now (post-Giles) there has to be some showing that the defendant committed the wrongdoing with the intent to prevent or cause a witness to be unavailable to testify. Unless the State can somehow show or demonstrate that intent to the trial court, the defendant might prevail on his Confrontation Clause claim.
It would seem now that the rather broad interpretation of forfeiture by wrongdoing, such as in Gonzalez25 or by the California courts of appeals in Giles,26 will no longer suffice to allow the State to entreat the trial judge to deny a defendant’s Sixth Amendment’s right to confrontation and deny the admission of out-of-court testimonial statements made by a witness who is otherwise unavailable to testify at trial. As was foreshadowed by the New Mexico case Romero,27 the best practice for prosecutors facing this situation is to establish and/or present evidence, during a hearing conducted outside the presence of the jury, to show the intent to wrongfully prevent the declarant from testifying at trial.
What’s a prosecutor to do?
Admittedly a trial prosecutor may not have much evidence for the trial court to make findings of fact and conclusions of law denying a defendant’s confrontational right under the Sixth Amendment. However, in most domestic violence cases, the case that eventually goes to trial is not the first time the protagonists have quarreled. Due diligence means anticipating the possibility that a subpoenaed victim might not appear at trial and a defendant may raise a confrontation objection. Gather evidence from the present case and any threats or inferences made by the defendant to discourage or hamper his victim’s appearance at trial. This should also include recordings of any jail calls. Keep that information and the list of witnesses who will testify regarding those circumstances in a separate part of your file but at the ready to counter any of the defendant’s Confrontation Clause objections, and preserve the record as to the trial court’s finding that the defendant waived his right to confront the witness by his wrongdoing.
1 Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354 (2004).
2 “For example, the rule of forfeiture by wrongdoing (which we accept) extinguishes confrontation claims on essentially equitable grounds; it does not purport to be an alternative means of determining reliability.” Crawford¸ 541 U.S. at 62, 124 S.Ct. at 1370.
3 Davis v. Washington, 547 U.S. 813, 126 S.Ct. 2266 (2006).
4 “While defendants have no duty to assist the State in proving their guilt, they do have the duty to refrain from acting in ways that destroy the integrity of the criminal-trial system. We reiterate what we said in Crawford: that “the rule of forfeiture by wrongdoing … extinguishes confrontation claims on essentially equitable grounds” (citations omitted). That is, one who obtains the absence of a witness by wrongdoing forfeits the constitutional right to confrontation.” Davis, 547 U.S. at 833, 126 S.Ct. at 2280.
5 Giles v. California, 554 U.S. 353, 128 S.Ct. 2678 (2008).
6 Crawford¸ 541 U.S. at 62, 124 S.Ct. at 1370; Davis, 547 U.S. at 834, 126 S.Ct. at 2280.
7 Gonzalez v. State, 195 S.W.3d 114 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006).
8 Gonzalez, 195 S.W.3d at 115.
9 Gonzalez v. State, 155 S.W.3d 603, 610 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2004).
10 Gonzalez, 195 S.W.3d at 126.
11 See Sohail v. State, 264 S.W.3d 251 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2008, pet. ref’d); See also Carillo v. State, 2007 WL 541598 (Tex. App.—Austin 2007, no pet.) (memo. op.) (not designated for publication) (statement made by victim before his death was a dying declaration exception to the hearsay rule and the court did not reach issue of forfeiture by wrongdoing even though acknowledging expansion of the doctrine by Gonzalez).
12 Sohail, 264 S.W.3d at 255-256.
14 Carillo v. State, 2007 WL 541598, *6 (Tex. App.—Austin 2007, no pet.) (memo. op.) (not designated for publication).
15 Gonzalez, 195 S.W.3d at 125.
16 554 U.S. 353, 128 S.Ct. 2678 (2008).
17 195 S.W.3d 114 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006).
18 Giles, 554 U.S. at 357; 128 S.Ct. at 2681–82.
20 Giles, 554 U.S. at 358; 128 S.Ct. at 2682–83.
22 Giles, 554 U.S. at 360-61; 128 S.Ct. at 2684.
23 Fed. R. Evid. 804(b)(6).
24 Giles, 554 U.S. at 367, 128 S.Ct. at 2687.
25 155 S.W.3d 603 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2004).
26 554 U.S. 353, 128 S.Ct. 2678 (2008).
27 141 N.M. 403, 156 P.3d 694 (2007).
28 2012 WL 3795447 (Tex. App.—Austin 2012, pet. ref’d) (memo. op.) (not designated for publication).
29 Garcia, 2012 WL 3795447 at *1-*3.
33 457 Mass. 858, 933 N.E. 633 (2010) (the defendant had been charged with committing an assault and battery on his girlfriend, they later got married and at a dangerousness hearing the victim refused to testify claiming her spousal privilege.The State successfully moved to admit hearsay statements made by the victim to her sister concerning the matter, before she married the defendant).
34 444 Mass. 526, 830 N.E.2d 158 (2005).
35 “We held that three factual findings are required for forfeiture by wrongdoing to apply: 1) the witness is unavailable; 2) the defendant was involved in or responsible for procuring the unavailability of the witness; and 3) the defendant acted with the intent to procure the witness’s unavailability.” Szerlong, 933 N.E. at 861.

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