Opinion ID: 867235
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Testimony of Gun Expert

Text: ¶ 41 Prince argues that reading a transcript of the State's gun expert's guilt-phase testimony to the aggravation-phase jury violated his Confrontation Clause rights. After a juror asked questions relating to the murder weapon, defense counsel informed the court that those questions could be answered by the gun expert. According to defense counsel, the parties originally planned to stipulate to the reading of that witness's prior testimony. Although no such stipulation occurred, defense counsel did not object when the gun expert's guilt-phase testimony was read to the jury. We therefore review Prince's claim for fundamental error. See State v. Henderson, 210 Ariz. 561, 567 ¶ 19, 115 P.3d 601, 607 (2005). ¶ 42 A defendant has a right to confront testimonial hearsay evidence introduced to establish an aggravating factor. State v. Tucker, 215 Ariz. 298, 315 ¶ 61, 160 P.3d 177, 194 (2007). Prior trial testimony is hearsay, Ariz. R. Evid. 804(b)(1), but admissible if (1) the declarant is unavailable, and (2) [t]he party against whom the former testimony is offered . . . had the right and opportunity to cross-examine the declarant with an interest and motive similar to that which the party now has. Ariz. R.Crim. P. 19.3(c)(1); accord State v. Armstrong, 218 Ariz. 451, 460 ¶ 32, 189 P.3d 378, 387 (2008) (citing Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 59, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004)). ¶ 43 Even if reading the transcript violated the Confrontation Clause (an issue we need not decide), Prince cannot show prejudice. The gun expert's testimony was irrelevant to the (F)(9) aggravating factor (the ages of the defendant and the victim) and did not directly relate to the core (F)(6) issue: whether Cassandra consciously suffered physical pain or mental anguish. Although the expert bolstered Christine's credibility by corroborating her testimony that Prince fired the gun through the pillow, two other witnesses also had testified to that fact. ¶ 44 Prince argues he was prejudiced because the gun-expert's testimony created confusion about whether Prince had intended to commit suicide after he fled to a vacant apartment. He now claims that issue was crucial to whether he could have reasonably foreseen Cassandra's suffering, an element of the (F)(6) aggravator. [4] Even if the expert's testimony was relevant to this issue, Prince cannot show prejudice because he did not place his mental state at issue during the aggravation phase. Neither he nor any other witness testified about his state of mind on the night of the shooting. Prince also did not introduce any expert testimony that his mental state made him unable to reasonably foresee Cassandra's mental anguish. Cf. State v. Moody, 208 Ariz. 424, 472 ¶ 226, 94 P.3d 1119, 1167 (2004) (holding that the (F)(6) aggravator was not established beyond a reasonable doubt when evidence was presented that [the defendant] was in a `dissociated state' due to psychosis) (emphasis added). Therefore, Prince has not established fundamental error.