State v. Harper

STREIT, Justice.

A badly-burned woman was brought to the emergency room. When the attending doctor asked what had happenedj she responded, “Sessions Harper raped me, tied me, and set my house on fire.” Holly Michael died eighteen days later from the burns. At trial, Harper objected to Mi chael’s statements, claiming their admission violated his right to confrontation as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. The district court determined the statements were admissible under the forfeiture-by-wrongdoing exception to the Confrontation Clause. Because Michael’s statements were nontestimonial, the…