Opinion ID: 2100111
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 16

Heading: Francis Fastenau

Text: After Benzel left the Atkinson-Christensen house, Christensen ran to Fastenau's house. At Fastenau's house, Christensen placed a 911 emergency dispatch call. Fastenau was called to testify and was asked to recount what Christensen had said on the 911 call. Fastenau testified that Christensen told the 911 operator that Benzel had put a gun to her head and had attempted to shoot her. Benzel claimed during postconviction proceedings that a tape recording of the 911 call revealed that Christensen did not say this. Benzel argued that counsel was ineffective for failing to assign error on appeal to the trial court's overruling of Benzel's hearsay objection to Fastenau's testimony. He also argued that counsel should have objected on a best evidence basis because the 911 tape was the best evidence of what Christensen said to the 911 operator. The postconviction court concluded that Fastenau's testimony was admissible because Christensen's statement to Fastenau was an excited utterance. Although it concluded that the trial court had erred by giving an erroneous limiting instruction to the jury in which it stated that the testimony could be used only for the purpose of supporting Christensen's testimony, the postconviction court found no prejudice to Benzel from the erroneous limiting instruction because it benefited Benzel, presumably because the jury was instructed to not consider Fastenau's testimony as substantive proof that Benzel had done what Christensen said he had done. The postconviction court also concluded that the best evidence rule was inapplicable to Fastenau's testimony because the State was not attempting to prove the contents of the 911 tape but instead was attempting to prove what Christensen had said to Fastenau.