CALIFORNIA EVIDENCE: SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMINATION INTERVIEW WAS TESTIMONIAL (CRAWFORD WIN!)
CRAWFORD WIN; SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMINATION INTERVIEW WAS TESTIMONIAL
The California Court of Appeal here rules in our favor in a Crawford (541 U.S. 36) case, without really applying the new Melendez-Diaz (129 S.Ct. 2527) case from
the United States Supreme Court.
FACTS:
The DA called a nurse to testify. The nurse conducted a sexual assault examination on the victim, during which the victim described the defendant's assault. The California Court of Appeal does a quite thorough job explaining why this statement was testimonial, and thus inadmissible under Crawford. The nurse was essentially an agent of law enforcement whose purpose was to collect evidence for court.
People v. Vargas; 2009 DJ DAR 15118; DJ, 10/26/09; C/A 2nd, Div. 4
CAVEAT: We can now use this to counter the prosecutors' objections that the person who draws blood in DUI cases is not an agent of the government.
