Opinion ID: 1293641
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Expert Testimony Based on Autopsy Reports of Deceased Doctor

Text: Dr. Clark served as the county coroner at the time of S.B.'s death, and he observed the victim's body at the murder scene. He directed that an autopsy be performed. Dr. Eckert, who died prior to trial, conducted the autopsy and prepared the autopsy report. The autopsy report contained an external, internal, and microscopic description of the body and did not suggest the date of death. Deputy Police Chief (formerly Sergeant) Plunkett attended the autopsy and testified at trial. As part of his coroner duties, Dr. Clark filed a written report with the clerk of the district court concerning the victim's death. The autopsy report was attached to the filed coroner's report. During Dr. Clark's testimony, the district court admitted the coroner's report but granted the defense's objection to the admission of the attached autopsy report on hearsay grounds. The State asked Dr. Clark if he had an opinion as to the cause of the victim's death based upon his own observations and his review of Dr. Eckert's autopsy report. The defense objected on the grounds that Dr. Clark would be relying upon hearsay evidence from the autopsy report, and the State clarified to the district court that the question was based upon Dr. Clark's own inspection of the crime scene. The district court overruled that objection and a similar one concerning the time of death. Dr. Clark opined that the cause of death was strangulation and suffocation. Taking into consideration temperatures and the amount of deterioration of the body, he opined that the victim had been dead for 6 to 8 days. Forensic pathologist and coroner of multiple Kansas counties, Dr. Mitchell testified next as an expert witness on behalf of the State. Over objection, he testified that the condition of the body was such that it could have been in the closet from December 11 to December 18, 1982, and that the cause of death was strangulation. Dr. Mitchell arrived at this conclusion based upon the autopsy report, photographs from the scene and autopsy, the toxicology report from the Kansas Department of Health, and the death certificate. The defense objected to this testimony, arguing that it had no way of knowing how much of Dr. Mitchell's opinion as to the time of death was based on Dr. Eckert's autopsy report and that an expert witness under K.S.A. 60-456(b) cannot render an opinion as to a matter that is hearsay and not evidence before the court. After substantial argument, the district court changed its earlier ruling and admitted the autopsy report, reasoning: The Court finds that [the] Dr. William Eckert, deceased, pathology report. . . performed on December the 20th, 1982, at Saint Francis Hospital, is a report of Dr. Eckert's perceptions [of the] medical examination on that date. The Court finds Dr. Eckert, obviously, is unavailable. He's now deceased. The Court finds that this is hearsay, but it's hearsay that was reasonably preserved by the declarant at a time when Dr. Eckert was making very technical medical observations. It's not subjective, in the Court's opinion. It's ait's a medical doctor's rendition of what he observes. The Court finds that inherent circumstances show reliability, that it was made in good faith, with no incentive to falsify or to distort. The Court's aware of the confrontation problems which arise under Ohio v. Roberts and that the Court must find that there is a particularized guarantee of trustworthiness. And I have to decide whether this report, surrounding circumstances, show a particularized guarantee of trustworthiness. The Court finds it does. It's a neutral fact witness who was doing a medical examination. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But it seems to me that if ever there was neutral situation, this is it. And, the Court's going to admit State's Exhibit 42 [autopsy report] over the objection of the defendant. Now, with State's Exhibit 42 admitted, the Court sees no reason it can't be the basis of [an opinion by] another pathologist. In his brief on appeal, the defendant argued that Dr. Eckert's autopsy report was inadmissible hearsay under the Confrontation Clause because no showing was made regarding Dr. Eckert's reliability and the report was thus improperly used by Dr. Mitchell to form the basis for his expert opinion testimony. The defendant relied in part upon the analysis set forth in Roberts, 448 U.S. 56, in arguing that the State failed to prove that the autopsy report prepared by Dr. Eckert carried a particularized guarantee of trustworthiness. However, defense counsel subsequently filed Supreme Court Rule 6.09(b) (2004 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 42), a letter informing this court that he intended to argue that Dr. Eckert's statements in the autopsy report were inadmissible under Crawford, 541 U.S. 36, because they were testimonial and the defense had no opportunity for cross-examination. Resolution of this issue involves multiple layers of analysis, including whether the autopsy report falls under a hearsay exception, whether it was testimonial under Crawford, and whether it could be used by the State's expert.