Cropper v. People

251 P.3d 434, 2011 WL 873158
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedMarch 14, 2011
Docket09SC828
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 251 P.3d 434 (Cropper v. People) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cropper v. People, 251 P.3d 434, 2011 WL 873158 (Colo. 2011).

Opinions

[435]*435Justice RICE

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

In this case, we review the constitutionality of section 16-3-309(5), C.R.S. (2010), as applied to petitioner, David Lee Cropper.1 We hold that, based on Hingjos-Mendoza v. People, 169 P.3d 662 (Colo.2007), Cropper waived his confrontation rights and, therefore, the statute was constitutional as applied. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.

I. Facts and Proceedings Below

After a jury trial, Cropper was convicted of second degree burglary and theft. Pursuant to Crim. P. 16, prior to trial, the prosecution provided Cropper a list of the witnesses that it planned to call at trial as experts in the area of forensic chemistry. Included in the list was a technician who prepared a report showing that a shoe-print left on a door that had been kicked in to obtain entry could have been from the same type of shoe that Cropper was wearing when he was apprehended.2 At trial, Cropper objected to the admission of this report because the technician who prepared it was not available to testify due to an out of state family emergency. Cropper contended that introduction of the report without testimony from the technician who prepared it violated his rights of confrontation and cross-examination.

Relying on the procedures set forth in section 16-3-809(5), the trial court found that Cropper had not notified the prosecution within the stated ten-day limit that he wished for the technician to testify and, for this reason, admitted the report. With the aid of supplemental briefing regarding the then recently decided Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, -- U.S. --, 129 S.Ct. 2527, 174 L.Ed.2d 814 (2009), the court of appeals upheld the admission of the shoe-print report, holding that Cropper's failure to follow the procedural requirements in section 16-3-309(5) resulted in a waiver of his confrontation rights.

II. Analysis

A. The Right to Confrontation and Section 16-3-309(5)

The Confrontation Clause of the United States Constitution gives a criminal defendant the right "to be confronted with the witnesses against him." U.S. Const. amend. VI. Likewise, the Colorado Constitution provides a criminal defendant the right "to meet the witnesses against him face to face." Colo. Const. art. II, § 16. Although this right is fundamental, it is not without limit, People v. Mojica-Simental, 73 P.3d 15, 19 (Colo.2003), and can be waived, Melendez, Diaz, 129 S.Ct. at 2584 n. 3. A defendant's counsel may waive his client's confrontation right. Taylor v. Ilinois, 484 U.S. 400, 418, 108 S.Ct. 646, 98 L.Ed.2d 798 (1988) ("the client must accept the consequences of the lawyer's decision to forgo cross-examination"); People v. Curtis, 681 P.2d 504, 511 (Colo.1984) ("[Dlefense counsel stands as captain of the ship. ... [Dlecisions committed to counsel include ... whether and how to conduct cross-examination ..." (internal quotations and citations omitted)). And, in some instances, defense counsel's inaction alone is sufficient to constitute a waiver. Melendes-Diaz, 129 S.Ct. at 2534 n. 3. ("The right to confrontation may, of course, be waived, including by failure to object to the offending evidence. ...").

The Confrontation Clause is implicated when testimonial hearsay is admitted against a criminal defendant. To comply with the Confrontation Clause, testimonial hearsay may only be admitted if the declar-ant is unavailable and the defendant has had a prior opportunity to cross-examine the de-[436]*436clarant. Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 68, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004). Both this Court and the United States Supreme Court have determined that forensic lab reports are testimonial hearsay subject to these confrontation clause requirements. Melendez-Diaz, 129 S.Ct. at 2582; Hinojos-Mendoza, 169 P.8d at 666-67. Therefore, for a forensic report such as the shoe-print analysis at issue in this case to be admitted, the defendant must, at some time, have an opportunity to cross-examine the technician who prepared it.

Section 16-8-309(5) recognizes this requirement. It states that:

Any report or copy thereof or the findings of the eriminalistiecs laboratory shall be received in evidence in any court, preliminary hearing, or grand jury proceeding in the same manner and with the same force and effect as if the employee or technician of the criminalistics laboratory who accomplished the requested analysis, comparison, or identification had testified in person. Any party may request that such employee or technician testify in person at a crimi-mal trial on behalf of the state before a jury or to the court, by notifying the wit-mess and other party at least ten days before the date of such eriminal trial.

§ 16-3-309(5) (emphasis added). Based on this statute, a criminal defendant may invoke his confrontation right by notifying the prosecution at least ten days prior to the date of trial that he wishes to exercise his opportunity to cross-examine the technician who prepared the report. Id.

In Mojica-Simental, we found that this procedure does not impose an undue burden on the defendant and adequately protects a defendant's right of confrontation. 73 P.3d at 18-20. Thus, we held that section 16-3-309(5) is constitutional on its face. Id. at 18. But, in dicta, we cautioned that section 16-3-309(5) could be applied unconstitutionally if the defendant's right of confrontation was not waived voluntarily, knowingly, and intentionally. Id. at 20 (citation omitted). Specifically, we stated that there might be a constitutional problem "[if a defendant does not have actual notice of the requirements of the statute, or mistakenly fails to notify the prosecution to have the technician present to testify...." Id. at 20-21. We also listed a series of factors that a trial court might consider to determine if there was a valid waiver of the right of confrontation.3 Id.

In Hinojos-Mendoza, we reaffirmed the constitutionality of section 16-8-809(5) and acknowledged that the dicta in Mojica-Si-mental was misplaced because it was based on the mistaken assumption that a defendant can only waive his right of confrontation if he personally makes a knowing, voluntary, and intentional waiver. 169 P.3d at 669. Instead, we confirmed that defense counsel can waive a defendant's right to confront the technician who prepared a forensic report by not complying with the procedural requirements in section 16-8-309(5), even if the attorney is unaware of the statute or its requirements. Id. at 670 ("where a defendant ... is represented by counsel, the failure to comply with the statutory prerequisites of section 16-8-809(5) waives the defendant's right to confront the witness just as the decision to forgo eross-examination at trial would waive that right").

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Cropper v. People
251 P.3d 434 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2011)

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Bluebook (online)
251 P.3d 434, 2011 WL 873158, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cropper-v-people-colo-2011.