Opinion ID: 867236
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Admission of Dr. Keen's Testimony

Text: ¶ 33 Dr. Heinz Karnitschnig, the Maricopa County medical examiner at the time of the murder, conducted the autopsy and prepared a report. He did not testify at trial. Instead, Dr. Philip Keen, who had more recently served as the medical examiner, testified based on his review of the autopsy report and photographs. Neither the report nor the photographs were admitted into evidence. ¶ 34 Citing Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004), Dixon contends that Dr. Keen's testimony violated the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause. Dixon did not raise this argument below, so we review only for fundamental error. State v. Womble, 225 Ariz. 91, 96, ¶ 10, 235 P.3d 244, 249 (2010). We find no error, fundamental or otherwise. ¶ 35 Because the State does not argue to the contrary, we assume arguendo that the autopsy report itself was testimonial hearsay. But see United States v. De La Cruz, 514 F.3d 121, 133 (1st Cir.2008) (autopsy reports not testimonial hearsay under Crawford ); United States v. Feliz, 467 F.3d 227, 230 (2d Cir.2006) (same). But that assumption avails Dixon not at all, because the autopsy report was not admitted into evidence. Rather, Dixon argues that Dr. Keen's testimony, which relied on the objective data in the report, was testimonial hearsay and thus violated the Confrontation Clause. ¶ 36 We have previously rejected this very argument. See, e.g., State v. Snelling, 225 Ariz. 182, 187, ¶ 21, 236 P.3d 409, 414 (2010); State v. Smith, 215 Ariz. 221, 228, ¶ 23, 159 P.3d 531, 538 (2007). Our cases teach that a testifying medical examiner may, consistent with the Confrontation Clause, rely on information in autopsy reports prepared by others as long as he forms his own conclusions. Smith, 215 Ariz. at 228, ¶ 23, 159 P.3d at 538; State v. Gomez, 226 Ariz. 165, 169-70, ¶ 22, 244 P.3d 1163, 1167-68 (2010) ([A] medical examiner may offer an expert opinion based on review of reports and test results prepared by others, as long as the testifying expert does not simply act as a conduit for another non-testifying expert's opinion. (internal quotation marks omitted)); cf. Ariz. R. Evid. 703 (allowing testifying expert to rely on data not admitted into evidence). ¶ 37 Dr. Keen's testimony is indistinguishable from that upheld in our prior cases. The medical examiner offered his independent conclusions, relying on the factual findings of the prior autopsy. He neither parroted the report nor recited Dr. Karnitschnig's opinions.