Opinion ID: 1201077
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Unavailability and the Confrontation Clause

Text: The confrontation clauses of the state and federal constitutions guarantee criminal defendants the right to confront their accusers. Ariz. Const. art. 2, § 24; State v. Edwards, 136 Ariz. 177, 665 P.2d 59 (1983); U.S. Const. amend. VI; Pointer v. Texas, 380 U.S. 400, 85 S.Ct. 1065, 13 L.Ed.2d 923 (1965). This right protects the accused's ability to confront and cross-examine his accusers face-to-face. Edwards, 136 Ariz. at 180-81, 665 P.2d at 62-63. Notwithstanding its essential nature in securing a fair trial, however, the confrontation clause has never been interpreted literally to require the exclusion of all statements of persons who do not appear at trial. 136 Ariz. at 181, 665 P.2d at 63. [C]onsiderations of public policy and the necessities of the case, Mattox v. United States, 156 U.S. 237, 243, 15 S.Ct. 337, 340, 39 L.Ed. 409 (1895), permit dispensing with confrontation at trial if two conditions are met: (1) the declarant's in-court testimony is unavailable, and (2) the declarant's out-of-court statement bears adequate indicia of reliability. Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56, 67, 100 S.Ct. 2531, 2539, 65 L.Ed.2d 597 (1980). [14] The trial judge held that Nicole was unavailable to testify under Rule 804(a)(4) because of an existing mental infirmity. The trial judge based his finding on expert testimony indicating that Nicole would be uncommunicative if asked about the assault and could be further traumatized by courtroom proceedings. He also reviewed the transcripts of Nicole's prior unsuccessful attempts at live and videotaped testimony. Based on this evidence, the court concluded that because of her age and the trauma resulting from sexual abuse, Nicole was incapable of testifying about the event. [15] Although it is generally preferable for the trial judge to personally examine the declarant, the court of appeals correctly determined that there was sufficient evidence in this case for the judge, in his discretion, to find that Nicole's in-court testimony was unavailable. Robinson, 153 Ariz. at 195-196, 735 P.2d at 800. The trial court's finding of unavailability is not the end of our inquiry. Cross-examination at trial is usually the best, but not the only, way to assure the trustworthiness of evidence introduced against defendant. Therefore, once unavailability has been established, the question becomes Whether a particular hearsay declaration, otherwise admissible, has such great probative value as evidence of a material fact and such a high degree of trustworthiness under all of the circumstances that its reception outweighs any risk to a defendant that unreliable evidence may be received against him, the deficiencies of which he cannot adequately test because he cannot cross-examine the declarant. Nick, 604 F.2d at 1203; see also Roberts, 448 U.S. at 66-67, 100 S.Ct. at 2539; Dorian, 803 F.2d at 1447; State v. Roy, 214 Neb. 204, 207, 333 N.W.2d 398, 401 (1983). In Roberts, the Supreme Court held that indicia of reliability sufficient to avoid a violation of the confrontation clause can be inferred without more in a case where the evidence falls within a firmly rooted hearsay exception. 448 U.S. at 67, 100 S.Ct. at 2539. The reliability of Nicole's statements to Dr. Davis can be inferred because the statements fall within Rule 803(4). See Iron Shell, 633 F.2d at 87. Nicole's other statements, to Danielle Parr, Dr. Kroft, and Carol Decker, do not fall within a firmly rooted hearsay exception and therefore are admissible only if supported by particularized guarantees of trustworthiness. Roberts, 448 U.S. at 67, 100 S.Ct. at 2539. This standard is similar to the guidelines spelled out in Rule 803(24). Dorian, 803 F.2d at 1447; Nick, 604 F.2d at 1203. As previously explained, see ante at 201-202, 735 P.2d at 811-812, Nicole's statements were either spontaneous or directly responsive to innocuous questions. The record contains no suggestion of leading interrogation, repeated questioning, overreaching, or manipulation by adults. Nicole's childish terminology has the ring of verity, and her statements were corroborated by physical evidence. Under these circumstances, it is extremely unlikely that the statements were fabricated. Nick, 604 F.2d at 1203-04. An additional factor of great weight in this case is the unlikelihood that more trustworthy or probative evidence could have been produced by Nicole's in-court testimony. A young child's spontaneous statements about so unusual a personal experience, made soon after the event, are at least as reliable as the child's in-court testimony, given months later, after innumerable interviews and interrogations may have distorted the child's memory. Indeed, Nicole's statements are valuable and trustworthy in part because they exude the naivete and curiosity of a small child, and were made in circumstances very different from interrogation or a criminal trial. See Berliner & Barbieri, supra, 40 J. SOCIAL ISSUES, at 133; cf. United States v. Inadi, 475 U.S. 387, 395-396, 106 S.Ct. 1121, 1127, 89 L.Ed.2d 390 (1986) (co-conspirator statements derive much of their value from the fact that they are made in a context very different from trial, and therefore are usually irreplaceable as substantive evidence). In short, Nicole's statements were sufficiently trustworthy that their admission did not violate Robinson's right to confront his accusers. [16] See Nick, 604 F.2d at 1204. In holding that Robinson's confrontation rights were not violated in this case, we are not inviting wholesale assaults on the confrontation clause. The rule remains that whenever possible, eye-to-eye, face-to-face, jury-to-witness confrontation is required. Society's need to prosecute accused abusers is no greater than its need to preserve the Constitution. We refuse to repeal the confrontation clause for child abuse cases. Child-victims' out-of-court statements are admissible only when, as here, the rules of evidence and the principles announced in Roberts are fully satisfied. However, when these elements are satisfied, and, as here, the child's hearsay statements are the most reliable evidence available, it would be a perversion of the confrontation clause to exclude the evidence. The confrontation clause was intended to give the defendant the benefit of what is usually the most reliable procedure, not to absolutely preclude society's use of the most reliable evidence available.