Opinion ID: 1575632
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Are the Confrontation Provisions of the Missouri Constitution Violated?

Text: Defendant bases his claims that his rights to confrontation were violated upon his confrontation rights under both the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and his rights under the confrontation provisions of the Missouri Constitution. In State v. Hester, 801 S.W.2d 695 (Mo. banc 1991), in considering whether confrontation was violated, we held that testimony by a police detective, pursuant to § 491.075, concerning statements made by a child abuse victim to the detective two days after the alleged abuse had occurred, did not violate confrontation. In Hester , the child was present at trial and answered two or three questions but, thereafter, failed to respond to additional questions by the prosecutor. At that point, the child was excused from the witness stand. Defense counsel made no attempt to cross examine. We rejected defendant's argument that Article I, Section 18(a), of the Missouri Constitution, which specifies that the accused shall have the right ... to meet the witnesses against him face to face, is more restrictive than the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. In State v. Schaal, 806 S.W.2d 659 (Mo. banc 1991), with Judge Robertson writing for the majority, this Court held that a videotaped interview of a child abuse victim by a psychologist admitted under § 492.304 did not violate confrontation where the child victim was available to testify, although neither the state nor the defendant called her as a witness. In the context of the facts in Schaal , this Court again held that [t]he confrontation rights protected by the Missouri Constitution are the same as those protected by the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Id. at 662. In the very early case, State v. McO'Blenis, 24 Mo. 402 (1857), this Court considered whether the face-to-face language of the Missouri Constitution excludes the use of a deposition and a dying declaration against the defendant in a criminal case. In holding that it does not, the Court pointed out that these exceptions to the hearsay rule were well established at the time the Constitution was adopted and such testimony was never intended to be excluded by the face-to-face language. Over the years, we have consistently refused to apply the face-to-face language of Section 18(a) literally to exclude evidence admitted under hearsay exceptions, which were truly not face to face. See State v. Simpson, 625 S.W.2d 957 (Mo.App.1981) (hospital records admitted under the business records exception); State v. Logan, 344 Mo. 351, 126 S.W.2d 256 (1939) (prior reported testimony); State v. Colvin, 226 Mo. 446, 126 S.W. 448 (1910) (dying declaration). If we were to rigidly apply the face to face requirement, no hearsay exception evidence would be admissible against any defendant in any criminal case where the declarant does not testify at trial because the declarant in such a circumstance is not face to face with the defendant. Such an interpretation of Article I, Section 18(a), would indeed result in a major difference in the confrontation protection afforded by the Missouri Constitution as opposed to that afforded by the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Even though this Court has held twice in the last fifteen months that the face to face language in the Missouri Constitution creates the same confrontation rights as the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, we need not consider, in the present case, whether the face to face language of Article I, Section 18(a), bars the use of a deposition taken under §§ 491.680 and 491.685. The express language of Article I, Section 18(b), specifically provides for the use of deposition testimony against a defendant in a criminal case under circumstances such as those required by §§ 491.680 and 491.685. Article I, Section 18(b), of the Missouri Constitution provides as follows: Upon a hearing and finding by the circuit court in any case wherein the accused is charged with a felony, that it is necessary to take the deposition of any witness within the state, other than defendant and spouse, in order to preserve the testimony, and on condition that the court make such orders as will fully protect the rights of personal confrontation and cross-examination of the witness by defendant, the state may take the deposition of such witness and either party may use the same at the trial, as in civil cases, provided there has been substantial compliance with such orders.... Section 18(b) is essentially an exception to the face to face requirement of Section 18(a) so that, if the deposition taken under §§ 491.680 and 491.685 [3] does not violate Section 18(b), then it does not violate the confrontation requirements of the Missouri Constitution. Section 18(b) contains four requirements. They are: (1) that the witness be within the state; (2) that the witness be other than the defendant and his or her spouse; (3) that the circuit court find that it is necessary to take the deposition in order to preserve testimony; and (4) that the conditions under which the deposition is taken fully protect the rights of personal confrontation and cross-examination of the witness by defendant. The first two requirements are clearly met in this case. As to the third requirement, that the deposition be in order to preserve the testimony, this phrase means that the deposition must be taken for the purpose of use where the witness is unavailable as opposed to being taken for discovery or impeachment. State v. Kelley, 693 S.W.2d 114 (Mo.App.1985). The finding of the trial court that T.N. would suffer emotional and psychological trauma, which would make her unavailable as a witness, specifically and precisely meets this third requirement. The fourth requirement of Section 18(b) has two prongs. Under one of those prongs it is required that the deposition procedure fully protect the rights of cross-examination of the witness by defendant. This requirement is met by the provisions of § 491.685, which require that the witness shall not be excused until the defendant has had a reasonable opportunity to review the videotape in private with his counsel and to consult with his counsel and until his counsel has been afforded the opportunity to cross-examine the witness following such review and consultation, all as discussed in this opinion. The other prong of the fourth requirement of Article I, Section 18(b), that the conditions of the taking and use of the deposition fully protect the rights of personal confrontation of the witness by defendant, expressly requires the type of analysis this Court is engaged in throughout Part I of this opinion, i.e., the determination of whether defendant's rights of confrontation have been violated. We hold that the rights of personal confrontation expressly required by Article I, Section 18(b), of the Missouri Constitution are the same rights of confrontation as are guaranteed to defendant under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. We must consider the same issue under § 491.685 as the United States Supreme Court considered in Maryland v. Craig , i.e., whether the exclusion of the defendant from the deposition proceeding at which the child is to testify violates confrontation. In State v. Jackson, 495 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. App.1973), the court of appeals held that a deposition taken by defendant's counsel when the defendant was not present did not meet the confrontation requirements of Article I, Section 18(b). However, the defendant in Jackson was an adult and, although defendant was deceased at the time of trial, there was no apparent reason for the absence of the defendant at the time the deposition was taken. As discussed above, in Maryland v. Craig , under the procedures we find to be similar to those required by § 491.685, the United States Supreme Court held confrontation was not violated. We agree with the rationale of Maryland v. Craig, 497 U.S. 836, 110 S.Ct. 3157, that, although the Confrontation Clause reflects a preference for face-to-face confrontation at trial, this is a preference that must occasionally give way to considerations of public policy and the necessities of the case. We agree with the conclusion of the Court that the state's interest in the physical and psychological well-being of child abuse victims may be sufficiently important to outweigh a defendant's right to face his or her accusers in court. We held earlier in this opinion that the Missouri deposition procedure in §§ 491.680 and 491.685, as used in this case, affords the defendant confrontation rights at least equal to the confrontation procedure available to the defendant in Maryland v. Craig under the in-camera video testimony procedure used therein. Just as the United States Supreme Court in Maryland v. Craig refused to second guess the considered judgment of the Maryland legislature regarding the importance of its interest in protecting child abuse victims from the emotional trauma of testifying, we likewise will not second guess our legislature regarding the importance of protecting child abuse victims. Accordingly, we hold that under the requirements set forth in §§ 491.680 and 491.685, Missouri's interest in protecting child witnesses from serious emotional distress if required to testify in the presence of the defendant is sufficiently important to justify the use of the special procedure provided by those sections. Under the rationale of Maryland v. Craig , which we embrace, the Missouri procedure under §§ 491.680 and 491.685 does not violate confrontation under Article I, Section 18(b) of the Missouri Constitution nor under the United States Constitution.