Opinion ID: 1726381
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: A.'s Medical Condition

Text: Regarding N.A.'s medical condition, we first note that neither Davis/Hammon nor Wright involved a victim with potential medical concerns. But applying the principles articulated in Davis/Hammon, if the primary purpose of the interrogation is to enable police assistance to meet an ongoing emergency, then N.A.'s statements are nontestimonial. 126 S.Ct. at 2273. We conclude that questions addressing a victim's medical condition may qualify as an interrogation designed to meet an ongoing emergency. As first responders to emergencies, police are often required to assess a party's injuries and determine whether those injuries must be immediately addressed and whether the party requires additional assistance from paramedics or other health care professionals. In order to make that assessment, officers must inevitably learn the circumstances by which the party was injured, and if the circumstances of the questions and answers objectively indicate that gaining such information is the primary purpose of the interrogation, then the party's statements are nontestimonial. We acknowledge that information about a victim's injury and its cause may be useful in a later prosecution, but for Confrontation Clause purposes, it is the primary purpose of the interrogation that is dispositive. Here, the objective circumstances of the interrogation indicate that the primary purpose of at least the initial part of the interrogation was to enable Wilson to address N.A.'s medical condition. After seeing N.A. and starting to assist her, Wilson had N.A. sit down because she was wobbly and potentially faint. Wilson then retrieved his emergency medical treatment bag, an act that indicates Wilson had concluded there was a medical concern. In order for Wilson to properly address the bump on N.A.'s head and the bruising on her neck, there is no question that the circumstances under which N.A. was physically hurt were relevant. There was no level of formality to the interrogation, N.A. was crying and shaking throughout, and the location of the exchange was a roadside curb. Although N.A. told Wilson about the alleged assault in the past tense rather than the present tense, this temporal context was necessary for Wilson to learn the circumstances under which N.A. was injured. Further, N.A.'s condition was severe enough that Wilson called an ambulance to the scene. Finally, Wilson addressed the concern of N.A.'s pregnancy and how that might have been affected by the alleged assault. We conclude that Wilson's questions and N.A.'s answers, at least so far as they pertained to N.A.'s treatment, were necessary to resolve N.A.'s apparent medical emergency.